“Paper and ink”

2 John 1:12

Cultural referenceSettledJohn

I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (2 John 1:12 BSB)

* Greek: chartes (a papyrus sheet) and melan (soot-and-gum ink), the technology of the letter itself, which the writer says is no substitute for a visit. 3 John closes almost identically with 'pen and ink.'

What it sounds like today

A simple sign-off saying he'd rather visit than write.

The cultural key

The writer names the physical materials of his craft: chartes, a sheet of papyrus, and melan, the black carbon-and-gum ink of the ancient world. It is a rare glimpse of the letter conscious of itself as an object, and of its limits. However valuable, a letter is a poor substitute for presence; the writer would rather come 'face to face' (literally 'mouth to mouth') so that joy can be full. The nearly identical wording at the close of 3 John (there, 'pen and ink') suggests a habitual sign-off from the same hand.

Recovered meaning

Even the most personal letter, the writer admits, is only ink on papyrus and no match for being together. The little detail humanizes the New Testament, an author longing to close the distance his own letter can only partly bridge.

Parallels: 3 John 1:13; 1 Corinthians 13:12