Romans 5:14

¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Death is personified as a tyrant.

Adam’s sin was breaking God’s law, but that wasn’t the case with those between Adam and Moses. Their deaths were a result of Adam’s sin.

type = figure, mold, pattern — impression made by a blow with a hammer

Adam was a type of Christ because he had headship as a progenitor, but the analogy shouldn’t be carried too far — watch for the “not as” in the next verse.