Exodus 14:16 (LSB)

Passage

As for you, raise up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.

Nearby Context

Exodus 14:14 Yahweh will fight for you, and you will keep silent.”

Exodus 14:15 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Speak to the sons of Israel so that they go forward.

Exodus 14:16 As for you, raise up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.

Exodus 14:17 As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians with strength so that they will go in after them; and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.

Exodus 14:18 Then the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh, when I am glorified through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "raise", "staff", "stretch", "hand", "over", "split", "sons", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "raise" and "staff", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Then Yahweh said to Moses Why are..." into verse 17's "As for Me behold I will harden...", so "raise" and "staff" belong inside that flow. In Exodus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "raise" and "staff" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.