Paper in the New Testament refers to writing material, probably made from papyrus. Papyrus was produced from a reedlike plant and used for documents, letters, and books.
Definition
Paper in its proper sense is a writing material made from papyrus. Papyrus was a bulrush-like plant used for documents, letters, and books. The word “paper” in Isaiah’s phrase about the “paper reeds” does not refer to writing material, however; the Revised Version understands that expression as meadows or grassy places beside the Nile.
Biblical Usage
The proper sense of paper appears in the greeting of 2 John, where writing material is intended. The papyrus plant itself is mentioned in connection with bulrushes and vegetation in Job and Isaiah.
Historical Background
Papyrus was manufactured from a reedlike plant formerly growing extensively in Egypt. The plant was used for many purposes, but the sources state that it had disappeared from Egypt, while significant growths were known in the marshes at the northern end of the lake of Merom.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The expression in the Authorized Version (Isa. 19:7), “the paper reeds by the brooks,” is in the Revised Version more correctly “the meadows by the Nile.” The words undoubtedly refer to a grassy place on the banks of the Nile fit for pasturage. In 2 John 1:12 the word is used in its proper sense. The material so referred to was manufactured from the papyrus, and hence its name. The papyrus (Heb. gome) was a kind of bulrush (q.v.). It is mentioned by Job (8:11) and Isaiah (35:7). It was used for many purposes. This plant (Papyrus Nilotica) is now unknown in Egypt; no trace of it can be found. The unaccountable disappearance of this plant from Egypt was foretold by Isaiah (19:6, 7) as a part of the divine judgment on that land. The most extensive papyrus growths now known are in the marshes at the northern end of the lake of Merom.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[Writing]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>pa'-per.</p><p>See CRAFTS, II, 13; PAPYRUS; REED; WRITING.</p>
