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.
days of Noah -- Peter has apparently selected as his example the time of Noah to show the type of salvation/deliverance that comes with obedience and the new life (like that of a resurrection) that comes afterwards (1 Peter 3:21). - WG