Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Peter 3:19

A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.

Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Modern study notes
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.

3:19-20 This difficult passage has been widely interpreted in three ways: (1) One interpretation holds that it refers to the spirits of people who have died and that Christ, after his resurrection, preached the Good News to these spirits. However, the idea that people might hear the Good News and respond after their deaths is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, and this meaning of spirits is not the most likely. (2) A second interpretation sees 3:19-20 as describing Christ’s preaching through Noah to people who are now spirits in prison. This interpretation does justice to 3:20 but does not fit well in the discussion of Christ’s death and resurrection (3:18). (3) In the third interpretation, the spirits in prison are evil spiritual beings. Jewish tradition, based on Gen 6:1-4, held that many angels fell in the time of Noah (see also Jude 1:6; 1 Enoch 6–10). Peter’s point would then be that Christ proclaimed his victory over the evil spiritual powers after his resurrection (cp. 1 Pet 3:22).

Read 1 Peter 3:19 →Read the full chapter →John Gill's Exposition →Barnes' Notes →Wesley's Explanatory Notes →Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge →

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This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.