who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ark was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water: Genesis 7 records the awesome fact of only eight souls being obedient and saved. The Holy Spirit Himself defines few with the number eight. The eight were saved or brought to safety by water, the natural element. Water bore up the ark and saved them from the world that was (2 Peter 3:6).