According to Lee Donaldson, the family of Jared received "instructions of the Lord" (Ether 2:16) on how to construct a vessel to cross the ocean; the Lehites received similar divine instructions (see 1 Nephi 17:8). Their ships' design came from the Lord and not man. This same divine help protected the two different families as they crossed the ocean. This ocean was described by the same term, "many waters," in both texts (1 Nephi 17:5; Ether 6:7). Many waters is "an Old Testament expression which often designates the waters of chaos" (Interpreters's Dictionary 4:816). The Lord was the only one who could help both families pass through the chaos to the promised land. [Lee L. Donaldson, "The Plates of Ether and the Covenant of the Book of Mormon," in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi through Moroni, From Zion to Destruction, p. 77]
Similar to the Israelites, the Jaredites also had to "cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord" (Ether 2:6; compare 2 Samuel 22:16-18; Psalms 18:15-17). Moreover, the Lord "did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel" (Ether 2:5; compare Exodus 13:21-22). Inasmuch as the Apostle Paul compared the Israelites' crossing the waters and being led by the cloud to baptism and the Holy Ghost, such a comparison might also be made with the Jaredites (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). From the scriptural motifs it seems evident that the Lord often leads his children into the wilderness, but he does not leave them alone. He gives them ordinances, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and even his own presence. [Thomas R. Valletta, "Jared and His Brother," in The Book of Mormon: Fourth Nephi through Moroni, From Zion to Destruction, pp. 311-312]