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.
While the ark was a preparing ... is a reference to a period of some 120 years during which the ark was built, and during which Noah preached to the rebellious world.  He is called a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5).  Some who would interpret this Scripture as meaning that Christ preached through some other instrumentality than that of the Holy Spirit make various arguments from the Greek text; but, as Barnes said (even while not agreeing that it was by the Holy Spirit), "The language here is consistent with the thought that Christ did the preaching through the instrumentality of another, to wit, Noah."[35]