For the spirits of those, see discussion above. The word for had not obeyed is the same word translated do not believe in 3.1, and in its positive form translated “believe” in 2.7. The verb does not have an explicit object, but God is meant and this is made clear in some translations (for example, Good News Translation, Barclay).
These were the spirits of those may require some restructuring, for example, “these spirits belong to those persons who….”
When he waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat is literally “when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, in the days of the building of the ark.” Here “patience” is personified (compare Rom 2.4), that is, it is spoken of as if it were a person (compare Gal 3.8, 9; where “scripture” is also personified). Of course it is not “patience” that waited, but God who waited patiently. This is an allusion to Genesis 6.3 “Then the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh, but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years’ ” (Revised Standard Version). In its original context, 120 years refers simply to a person’s life span, but rabbinic teaching has interpreted it to mean that God lengthened the life expectancy of people in order to give them an opportunity to repent. This rabbinic exegesis seems to be echoed here. The purpose of God’s waiting is therefore a positive one: it is to give these spirits an opportunity to repent and be spared God’s judgment (compare 2 Peter 3.19). But also included is the idea that God does not wait forever; he waited only until Noah had finished building the boat, which was designed as a means of escape from judgment. As long as the boat was under construction, there was still time for people to obey God. This interpretation would allow when to be translated “while” (for example, New English Bible, New American Bible). It was probably from this understanding that the ark in later times became a symbol either for the church or the cross.
A strictly literal translation of when he waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat might suggest that God’s only concern was for Noah to get on with the building of the boat. In reality, of course, God’s patience relates to his attitude toward people, and it may be necessary to make this meaning explicit, for example, “God waited patiently for people to repent during the days that Noah was building his boat” or “God was patient and did not judge people during the days that Noah was building his boat.”
Rather than during the days that Noah was building his boat, it may be better to translate “during the time that Noah was building his boat.” A specific reference to “days” might mean that God was patient only during the daytime but not at night.
The rest of the flood story in Genesis 6–9 is glossed over, except for the information that only a few, that is, eight people, were saved from the flood. (People is literally “souls,” but used here in the sense of human beings.) This information accents both the intensity of God’s judgment and the greatness of his love. His judgment was intense against those who were given all the opportunity to repent, but did not, as shown by their refusal to enter the boat which would have led them to safety. (In the boat is literally “into the boat,” which includes the act of entering the ark and by the very act enjoying the benefit of the ark’s protection.) Only eight people responded—Noah and his wife, their three sons Ham, Shem and Japheth, and their wives. This is a solemn reminder to the Christians that while they were a very small minority, yet they too, like Noah and his family, would be spared God’s judgment.
But the greatness and universality of God’s love is also accented by the number 8, which at that time came to be understood in Christian circles as signifying perfection, replacing the number 7. This significance was probably given to the number 8 because of the Christian practice of designating the Lord’s Day (Sunday) as the eighth day of the week. And since the passage now in question is probably a part of the baptismal liturgy, and the rite of baptism was normally administered on Sunday, the number 8 attains double significance. If the number 8 can be understood in this manner, then Noah and his family represent the completeness of those who are going to be saved from God’s judgment through the new ark, that is, the cross of Christ or the church.
The subject expression The few people in the boat, followed by the qualification of that expression within dashes, namely, eight in all, may require certain restructuring or expansion, for example, “there were only a few people in the boat—there were just eight in all” or “… there were just eight of them.” If one wishes to emphasize the meaning of going “into the boat,” one may translate the last part of verse 20 as “there were only a few people who went into the boat, just eight people.” Such an introductory expression may then be followed by a relative clause, for example, “… there were just eight people who were saved by the water.”
Were saved by water is literally “were saved through water,” with God and not water (a sense which the Good News Translation might convey) or the ark (compare Jerusalem Bible) as the implicit agent of salvation. “Through water” is in itself ambiguous, since “through” can either be a dative of instrument or a dative of location. If “through” is taken in an instrumental sense, then the meaning is that Noah and his family were saved by means of the water, since it was the water of the flood which carried the ark to safety. The reference to baptism in verse 21 seems to favor this interpretation. Some translations clearly indicate this interpretation (for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “the water carried them and saved them”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy: “were saved by means of water”).
Since the passive expression were saved by the water must be made active in a number of languages, it may be possible to translate were saved by the water as “God saved them by means of the water” or “God rescued them by means of the water.”
If “through” is taken in a local sense, then the meaning is that Noah and his family were saved from the water; they escaped from the water of the flood into the safety of the boat. This would also mean that the reference to salvation in verse 21 is primarily a negative one: the water of baptism represents the death of Christ and the evil life which one leaves behind at baptism. This local sense is found in some translations, for example, Phillips “were saved from the flood”; Knox “found refuge as they passed through the waves.”
If by the water is to be understood in a locative sense, then the passive expression were saved by the water may be rendered as “God saved them through the water” or “God saved them from the flood” or “God saved them as they passed through the water” or “… over the water” or “… floated on top of the water.”
Some, however, make a case for deliberate ambiguity here, and many translations, whether deliberately or not, preserve the ambiguity.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The First Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .