ἦν (en) in Colossians 2:14: Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative

Verb: the form names an action, state, or relation, and here it is the verb from εἰμί.

Imperfect: presents the action from a past viewpoint, often with ongoing or repeated force. It is not merely an English past tense label.

Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.

Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.

Third person: the form speaks about someone or something rather than directly as I/we or you.

Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.

Singular: the form is grammatically singular and agrees with a singular subject in the clause.

Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.

It is attached to the relative pronoun ὃ and the adjective ὑπεναντίον in the clause about the χειρόγραφον.

The form functions as the clause verb within the relative description, stating the condition or status of the handwritten record in view.

It identifies the cited document as being hostile or against us in the verse's argument.

It does not by itself define the noun's identity beyond the context, and it does not turn the phrase into a new lexical item.

High: The imperfect verb states the adverse status of the record that Christ removes in Colossians 2:14.

Third-person singular imperfect active indicative of the being verb. states that the record was against or hostile to us before its removal. Attached to the relative clause describing the handwritten record. Governed by the relative pronoun and predicate adjective in the clause. The verb describes the status in the clause; it does not identify every detail of the record by itself.

What was true of the record in the relative clause? It was against us or hostile to us.

Direct: The form directly supports wording such as "was against us" in the relative clause.

The imperfect describes a past state but should not be turned into a complete timeline by itself. The identity of the record comes from the noun and context, not from the being verb alone. The cancellation theology rests on the whole sentence, not merely on the copular verb.

Imperfect proves an endless past state: The imperfect describes the record as adverse in the clause; the verse itself narrates removal. being verb defines the whole doctrine: The verb links subject and predicate, while the verse supplies the cancellation claim.

The provided text reads ὃ ἦν ὑπεναντίον ἡμῖν, within the TR/Scrivener witness of Colossians 2:14.

The form belongs to εἰμί, a common verb of being or existence, here used in a relational clause.

The imperfect presents the hostile status as the state that characterized the χειρόγραφον in the prior situation, without requiring extra emphasis beyond the sentence.

The verse says the record of debt was against us and was removed and nailed to the cross, so this verb helps describe its prior opposing condition.

Across Scripture, εἰμί can simply mark existence or state, and here it supports the verse's portrayal of an opposed obligation being dealt with by Christ's work.

For teaching or translation, the form can be rendered plainly as was, since the context already shows a state that stood in opposition.

Do not derive a separate doctrine from the imperfect alone, and do not overread tense as if it settled every detail of timing or theology.