BBC: Genesis 6:16-18

Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. – Genesis 6:16-18

There is some deep rooted typology in the three decks for the ark. Much like the temple, and its three separate areas, the ark is a temporary form of deliverance for the people of God in preparation of the final unity with Jesus Christ.

But how can the rest of the passage speak that “all flesh” shall die? God’s covenant with Noah is so affective that Noah is no longer counted amongst those in judgment. God has called out and sanctified Noah such that “everything that is on the earth” can die in fulfillment of God’s judgment.

God’s covenant enacts a new world order. The previous order will be judged completely. There will be no “breath/spirit of life” remaining apart from that given in the new covenant with Noah. The author of Hebrews speaks much like this in reference to the new covenant inaugurated in Christ (Heb 8:13).