Terrence Szink explains that Nephi proclaimed the power that the Lord had given him ("If He should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth" -- 1 Nephi 17:50) in a way that brings to mind Moses' power over the Red Sea (And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea -- Exodus 14:16). At the conclusion of this sermon, Nephi reported that his brothers were so humbled by his speech and fearful that they "durst [not] . . . lay their hands upon [him] nor touch [him] with their fingers, even for the space of many days" (1 Nephi 17:52). This situation recalls the return of Moses from speaking to the Lord on Sinai: "When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him" (Exodus 34:29-30). [Terrence L. Szink, "Nephi and the Exodus," in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, pp. 47-48]