G2258 — ἦν (ēn)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2258
Original: ἦν
Transliteration: ēn
Pronunciation: ane
Part of Speech: Verb (imperfect active indicative of εἰμί, G1510)
Root: εἰμί (eimí) — to be, to exist
Occurrences: 387 unique verses (426 tokens) across 18 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 1:18 — "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Imperfect of εἰμί; I (thou, etc.) was (wast or were):— agree, be, have been, was.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - Domain 13: Be, Become, Exist, Happen - 13.1 State - 13.3 Exist - 13.4 Happen - Domain 85: Existence in Space - 85.1 Be in a Place - Domain 89.19: Equivalence - Other words: ὅς (G3739), οὗτος (G5023) - Domain 68: Aspect - 68.2 Continue

Multiple domain assignment reflects the range of ēn: pure copula (identity/equivalence), existential statement, spatial location, and ongoing/continuous past state.

UBS Semantic Domains: - [013] Be, Become, Exist, Happen - [085] Existence in Space - [071] Mode - [058] Nature, Class, Example - [034] Association - [068] Aspect - [023] Physiological Processes and States - [087] Status - [089] Relations

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
was	149	38.5%
were	48	12.4%
he was	33	8.5%
there was	28	7.2%
they were	21	5.4%
it was	20	5.2%
there were	15	3.9%
ye were	9	2.3%
had	8	2.1%
wast	4	1.0%
Other (periphrastic: he taught, he preached, continued, etc.)	52	13.4%

The KJV frequently renders periphrastic constructions (ēn + participle) with a simple English past tense ("he taught," "he preached," "beckoned," "withdrew"), obscuring the underlying imperfect + participle structure.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
John	97	11.0
Mark	54	8.0
Acts	72	7.1
Luke	81	7.0
Revelation	16	4.0
1 John	4	3.8
Galatians	5	3.4
2 Peter	2	3.3
Matthew	31	2.9
Hebrews	7	2.3
James	2	1.9
1 Corinthians	6	1.4
Ephesians	2	1.3
Colossians	1	1.1
1 Peter	1	1.0
Romans	3	0.7
2 Corinthians	1	0.4
Philippians	2	—

Heavily concentrated in narrative books (John, Luke, Acts, Mark account for 304/387 = 79% of occurrences). John's density (11.0 per 100 verses) is the highest by a wide margin, reflecting his characteristic use of ēn for theological descriptions of Christ's pre-existence and identity. Virtually absent from the Pastoral Epistles, shorter letters, and most Pauline epistles.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Copula — Identity and Characterization¶

The most common use: linking a subject to a predicate nominative or adjective, stating what someone or something was. - Jhn 1:1 — "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - Jhn 1:4 — "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." - Jhn 8:44 — "He was a murderer from the beginning" - Act 11:24 — "For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost"

2. Existential — Something Existed or Was Present¶

Introduces the existence of a person, place, or thing, often with "there was/were." - Mar 1:23 — "And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit" - Luk 16:19 — "There was a certain rich man" - Jhn 3:1 — "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus" - Act 9:10 — "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias"

3. Locative — Being in a Place¶

Describes a subject's ongoing location or spatial presence. - Mar 1:13 — "And he was there in the wilderness forty days" - Jhn 18:1 — "he went forth... where was a garden" - Act 9:28 — "And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem" - Luk 2:7 — "laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn"

4. Periphrastic — Continuous/Habitual Past Action (ēn + participle)¶

Combines with a present participle to form an imperfect periphrastic, emphasizing ongoing or habitual action in the past. - Mar 1:22 — "he taught (ēn didaskōn) them as one that had authority" - Mar 1:39 — "And he preached (ēn kēryssōn) in their synagogues" - Luk 4:44 — "And he preached (ēn kēryssōn) in the synagogues of Galilee" - Luk 5:16 — "And he withdrew (ēn hypochōrōn) himself into the wilderness, and prayed"

5. Temporal Marker — Noting Time or Season¶

Identifies what time it was or what occasion was occurring. - Mar 15:25 — "And it was the third hour, and they crucified him" - Jhn 10:22 — "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter" - Jhn 13:30 — "and it was night" - Jhn 19:14 — "And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour"

6. Pre-Existence and Eternal Being¶

Distinctive Johannine usage for Christ's existence before creation and the eternal nature of divine realities. - Jhn 1:1 — "In the beginning was the Word" (ēn ho logos) - Jhn 1:2 — "The same was in the beginning with God" - Jhn 1:9 — "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man" - Jhn 1:10 — "He was in the world, and the world was made by him"

7. Revelation's Temporal Formula — "Which Was"¶

ēn appears in Revelation's distinctive threefold divine title expressing God's eternal nature across all time frames. - Rev 1:4 — "from him which is, and which was, and which is to come" - Rev 1:8 — "which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" - Rev 4:8 — "Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" - Rev 11:17 — "which art, and wast, and art to come" - Rev 16:5 — "Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	60x (16%)	Subject of ēn: "Jesus was..."
λέγω (legō)	G3004	47x (12%)	Narrative framing: "he was saying..." or quotation in ēn context
ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos)	G444	42x (11%)	"There was a man who..." — existential introduction
ἔρχομαι (erchomai)	G2064	42x (11%)	Movement context alongside state description
γίνομαι (ginomai)	G1096	33x (9%)	Both appear in same verse, distinguishing "was" (state) from "became" (change)
θεός (theos)	G2316	33x (9%)	"The Word was God," "God was with him" — theological identity
ἡμέρα (hēmera)	G2250	32x (8%)	Temporal setting: "it was the day..."
ὁράω (horaō)	G3708	28x (7%)	"they saw... and he was..." — visual description
Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios)	G2453	26x (7%)	"There was a feast of the Jews" and similar
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	25x (6%)	"the hand of the Lord was with them"

Word Family (εἰμί forms with separate Strong's entries)¶

G1510 εἰμί (eimí) — root lemma: to be, I am (present tense)
G2076 ἐστί (estí) — 3rd person singular present indicative: "he/she/it is"
G1511 εἶναι (eînai) — present infinitive: "to be"
G5607 ὤν (ōn) — present active participle: "being"
G1498 εἴην (eiēn) — optative: "might be"
G2071 ἔσομαι (esomai) — future: "shall be"
G1526 εἰσί (eisí) — 3rd person plural present: "they are"
G5600 ὦ (ō) — subjunctive: "may be"

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2258.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2258.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
γίνομαι (ginomai)	G1096	"was" (52 vv)	ginomai = "became/came to be" (change of state); ēn = "was" (continuous state or identity)
ἐστί (estí)	G2076	"he was" (12 vv)	estí = present tense "is"; ēn = past tense "was" — KJV sometimes translates both as "was"
εἶναι (eînai)	G1511	"was" (12 vv)	eînai = infinitive "to be"; ēn = finite imperfect "was"
ὤν (ōn)	G5607	"were" (10 vv)	ōn = participle "being"; ēn = indicative "was"
הָיָה (hāyāh)	H1961	"was" (248 vv in OT)	hāyāh is the Hebrew copula/existential verb; ēn is its Greek functional equivalent in narrative

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 89.19 — Equivalence)¶

Word	Strong's	Total vv	Primary KJV	Key Difference
ὅς (hos)	G3739	606	which, whom	Relative pronoun — points to referent; ēn asserts being/identity
οὗτος (houtos)	G5023	166	these things, these	Demonstrative pronoun; ēn is a verb of existence

Hebrew Source¶

No direct LXX mapping data found for G2258 (Strong's assigns separate numbers to Greek inflected forms, and LXX alignment data maps to the root lemma G1510 εἰμί rather than to the imperfect form separately).

Functionally, ēn corresponds to the Hebrew הָיָה (hāyāh, H1961) in its narrative past tense uses. The "Easily Confused Words" data confirms H1961 as the dominant OT equivalent sharing the same KJV translations as G2258 (248 verses for "was," 152 for "were").