The Greek text does not mention seven others but rather talks of Noah being the eighth person. The number found in the Greek is thus eight and not seven. This has resulted in some commentators suggesting that Peter seeks to teach a deeper lesson. The number eight possibly refers to perfection in the early church and thus shows that Noah is the beginning of a new creation after the flood (even as Christian believers are a new creation in Christ).1 Though this interpretation might seem appealing, it is unclear.2
5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;