Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
Which aforetime were disobedient (apeiqhsasin pote). First aorist active participle of apeiqew (for which verb see I Peter 3:20) in the dative plural agreeing with pneumasin. These spirits now in prison once upon a time (pote) were disobedient (typical rebels, Hart calls them).
Waited (apecedexeto). Imperfect middle of the double compound apekdexomai, late verb, probably first by Paul (I Corinthians 1:7), though in the apocryphal Acta Pauli (iii) and other late writings cited by Nageli (p. 43). Perfective use of the two prepositions (apo, ek) to wait out to the end, as for Christ's Second Coming (Philippians 3:20). A hundred years apparently after the warning (Genesis 5:32; Genesis 6:3; Genesis 7:6) Noah was preparing the ark and Noah as a preacher of righteousness (II Peter 2:5) forewarned the people, who disregarded it.
While the ark was a preparing (kataskeuazomenhv kibwtou). Genitive absolute with present passive participle of kataskeuazw, old compound (Matthew 11:10), for kibwtov (ark) see on Matthew 24:38.
Wherein (eiv hn). "Into which" (the ark).
That is (tout estin). Explanatory expression like our English idiom (Romans 10:6, etc.).
Souls (yuxai). Persons of both sexes (living men) as in Acts 2:41; Acts 27:37, etc.
Were saved (dieswqhsan). First aorist passive indicative of diaswzw, old compound, to bring safe through as in Acts 27:44.
Through water (di udatov). "By means of water" as the intermediate agent, an apparent change in the use of dia in composition just before (local use) to the instrumental use here. They came through the water in the ark and so were saved by the water in spite of the flood around them. Peter lays stress (Hart) on the water rather than on the ark (Hebrews 11:7) for the sake of the following illustration.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing 1 Peter 3:20:
Acts 23:24
1 Corinthians 1:7
1 Peter 3:18
1 Peter 3:20
1 Peter 4:1
2 Peter 2:5
2 Peter 3:15
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