13 I had many things to write to you, but I don’t want to continue writing to you with ink and reed pen. 14 But, I hope to see you soon and we will speak in person. (3 John 1:13-14)
12 Although I have many things to write to you, I decided not to do so with paper and ink. But I hope to come to you and speak face to face so that our joy may be full. (2 John 1:12)
Word Focus
ink
μέλας / melas
<Hear It>
3 John 1:13-14 is familiar to you if you read the post from last week. 2 John 1:12 is a similar verse, but is from a different letter written by the Apostle John. Second John is a another short, personal letter written to the “chosen lady and her children” (verse 1:1), which probably refers to a particular church and its members, though some scholars believe it was addressed to an actual unnamed Christian woman. In this short letter John emphasizes truth and love and warns about false teachers. Anyone who claims to follow Christ must walk in the truth (verse 1:4) and walk in love (verse 1:6). The word walk implies more than just knowing what the Bible says – it means doing what the Bible says. Click here to read the entire letter of Second John in the Blue Letter Bible. It takes less than two minutes.
John had many things he wanted to write, but decided not to write them in a letter (“with paper and ink”). Instead, he hoped to visit the “chosen lady” for a face to face talk.
In the verses at the top of this post, “ink” is a translation of the Greek word μέλας (melas) which is an adjective that describes something that is black or dark. Examples in the New Testament are black hair (Matthew 5:36), a black horse (Revelation 6:5), and black sackcloth (Revelation 6:12). When the Greek word is used as a noun, such as in 2 John and 3 John, it means “ink”. Our English word melanin is derived from the Greek word μέλας. Melanin is the dark skin pigment that is responsible for all skin colors.
Writers during ancient times made their own ink as explained by J. Harold Greenlee in his book on New Testament textural criticism: “Ink used in ancient manuscripts was most commonly one of two kinds: ink made of lamp-black and gum dissolved in water, which produced very black writing; and ink made from nutgalls, which produced a fine rusty-brown color… Red ink was sometimes used, and other colors, including purple, gold, and silver, are occasionally found.” Note that lamp-black is soot from incomplete burning and gum is a type of tree sap called Gum Arabic. The lamp-black provided the black color and the gum acted as a thickener and adhesive to make the ink stick to the paper.
In the last post there was a link to a YouTube video explaining how to make a reed pen. Click here for an explanation of how to make ink similar to what was used during the time of the New Testament. You can use this ink with your pen.
In the next post I will continue the word focus on writing by looking at paper.
1Introduction to New Testament Textural Criticism, J. Harold Greenlee, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, © 1964, page 23.
Word Focus Lexicon
Lexical Form: μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν <Hear It>
Gloss: As an adjective: black; As a noun: ink
Part of Speech: Adjective
New Testament Frequency: 6
English Derivatives: melanin (a dark pigment responsible for all skin colors); melanoma (a type of skin cancer that develops from pigment producing cells).
Strong’s Number: G3189 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
Koine Foundations 
Leave a comment