2 John 1:12

Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(3) Conclusion (2John 1:12-13).

(12) Having many things to write unto you.—This verse shows that the Letter to the matron and her family was not a mere accompaniment of a copy of the First Epistle. His heart is full of things to write, but he hopes soon to have unlimited conversation.

Paper.—The Egyptian papyrus.

Ink.—A mixture of soot, water, and gum. The papyrus-tree grows in the swamps of the Nile to the height of ten feet and more. Paper was prepared from the thin coats that surround the plant. Pliny describes the method (xiii. 23). The different pieces were joined together by the turbid Nile water, as it has a kind of glutinous property. One layer of papyrus was laid flat on a board, and a cross layer put over it; these were pressed, and afterwards dried in the sun. The sheets were then fastened or pasted together. There were never more than twenty of these sheets fastened together in a roll; but of course the length could be increased to any extent. The writing was in columns, with a blank slip between them; it was only on one side. When the work was finished, it was rolled on a staff, and sometimes wrapped in a parchment case (Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, p. 567).

Of the ink used by the Romans, Pliny says that it was made of soot in various ways, with burnt resin or pitch. “For this purpose they have built furnaces which do not allow the smoke to escape. The kind most commended is made in this way from pine-wood: it is mixed with soot from the furnaces or baths; and this they use for writing on rolls. Some also make a kind of ink by boiling and straining the lees of wine.” The black matter of the cuttle-fish was also sometimes used for writing (Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, p. 110).

The pen was a reed, sharpened with a knife, and split like a quill-pen.

The Jews seem to have used lamp-black dissolved in gall-juice, or lamp-black and vitriol, for ink. The modern scribes “have an apparatus consisting of a metal or ebony tube for their reed-pens, with a cup or bulb of the same material attached to the upper end for ink. This they thrust through the girdle, and carry with them at all times” (Thomson, The Land and the Book, p. 131; Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, p. 1802).

Speak face to face.—Not that there was any oral tradition which he would not write down. His Gospel and First Epistle would contain the outline of all his teaching. But on this occasion there was no need for writing. (Comp. 1Corinthians 13:12.)

That our joy may be full.—Comp. 1John 1:4. It would be the deep satisfaction of the interchange of spiritual thoughts and aspirations without the limitations of a monologue or of writing materials.

(13) The children of thy elect sister.—He may have been staying at this second matron’s house; at any rate, the family knew he was writing. The simplicity of the great Apostle, the personal friend of the risen Lord, the last of the great pillars of the Church of Christ—in transmitting this familiar message, makes a most instructive finish to what is throughout a beautiful picture.

Benson Commentary

2 John 1:12-13. Having many things to write — Concerning these and other subjects; I would not — Ουκ εβουληθην, I was not minded, to communicate them by paper and ink — Probably the apostle meant that he had many things to say concerning the characters and actions of the false teachers; perhaps also he wished to mention to her the names of those that he had principally in view. But these things he did not think it proper to write in a letter; especially as he proposed to visit this matron and her children soon, and to converse with them personally. The children of thy elect — Or Christian sister, greet thee — It seems she was absent, if not dead, when the apostle wrote this. It is justly observed by Macknight, that “the word elect here, as in 2 John 1:1, doth not signify chosen from eternity to salvation. For the apostle could not know that the matron’s sister was so elected, unless the matter had been made known to him by a particular revelation, which is not alleged to have been the case by any who so interpret election.” But it signifies, as the same expression generally does, in other passages of Scripture, a true believer in Christ, who, as such, is in a state of acceptance with God, and one of his chosen people. See on Ephesians 1:3-7. It is proper to observe here also, that the salutations which the Christians in the first age gave to each other, were not of the same kind with the salutations of unbelievers, which were wishes of temporal health and felicity only; but they were prayers for the health and happiness of their souls, and expressions of the most sincere love. See 3 John, 2 John 1:2. The apostle sent this matron the salutation of the children of her sister, to intimate to her that they were all Christians, and that they persevered in the true doctrine of the gospel.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:12,13 The apostle refers many things to a personal meeting. Pen and ink were means of strengthening and comforting others; but to see each other is more so. The communion of saints should be maintained by all methods; and should tend to mutual joy. In communion with them we find much of our present joy, and look forward to happiness for ever.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Having many things to write unto you - That I would wish to say. This language is such as would be used by one who was hurried, or who was in feeble health, or who hoped soon to see the person written to. In such a case only the points would be selected which were of most immediate and pressing importance, and the remainder would be reserved for a more free personal interview.

I would not write with paper - The word "paper" here conveys an idea which is not strictly correct. "Paper," as that term is now understood, was not invented until long after this period. The material designated by the word used by John (χάρτης chartēs) was the Egyptian papyrus, and the particular thing denoted was a leaf made out of that plant. The sheets were made from membranes of the plant closely pressed together. This plant was found also in Syria and Babylon, but it was produced in greater abundance in Egypt, and that was the plant which was commonly used. It was so comparatively cheap, that it in a great measure superseded the earlier materials for writing - plates of lead, or stone, or the skins of animals. It is probable that the books of the New Testament were written on this species of paper. Compare Hug, Introduction, chapter iii., Section 11.

And ink - The ink which was commonly employed in writing was made of soot and water, with a mixture of some species of gum to give it consistency and durability - Lucke. The instrument (pen) was made of a reed.

But I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face - Margin, as in Greek, "mouth to mouth." The phrase is a common one, to denote conversation with any one, especially free and confidential conversation. Compare Numbers 12:8; Jeremiah 32:4.

That our joy may be full - Margin, "your." The marginal reading has arisen from a variation in the Greek copies. The word "our" is best sustained, and accords best with the connection. John would be likely to express the hope that he would find pleasure from such an interview. See the notes at 1 John 1:4. Compare Romans 1:11-12.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

12. I would not write—A heart full of love pours itself out more freely face to face, than by letter.

paper—made of Egyptian papyrus. Pens were then reeds split.

ink—made of soot and water, thickened with gum. Parchment was used for the permanent manuscripts in which the Epistles were preserved. Writing tablets were used merely for temporary purposes, as our slates.

face to face—literally, "mouth to mouth."

full—Greek, "filled full." Your joy will be complete in hearing from me in person the joyful Gospel truths which I now defer communicating till I see you. On other occasions his writing the glad truths was for the same purpose.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The latter write is not in the Greek text; but the words bear this sense, that having many things to write, I would not by

paper and ink impart them to you, (the expression being elliptical), but hope to come, &c.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Having many things to write unto you,.... Either on a civil, or on a religious account, concerning the state of the churches of Asia, and particularly Ephesus, and of private families and persons, and concerning the truths and doctrines of the Gospel; not that he had any new one, or any other than what they had heard from the beginning, to communicate to them, by word of mouth, for this he denies, 2 John 1:5; wherefore this makes nothing for the unwritten traditions of the Papists, and as if the Scriptures did not contain the whole of doctrine and of the will of God.

I would not write with paper and ink; any more than what was written:

but I trust to come unto you; where they were, but where that was is not known; very likely in some parts of Asia, and it may be not far from Ephesus, since any long journey would not have been fit for the apostle to have taken in this his old age:

and speak face to face; that is, freely and familiarly converse together about things omitted in this epistle:

that our joy may be full; in seeing one another's faces, and through hearing the things that may be talked of; and since the conversation would doubtless turn on divine and evangelic things, so fulness, or a large measure of spiritual joy, may be here intended. Instead of "our joy", the Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin and the Ethiopic versions, read, "your joy".

Geneva Study Bible

Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

2 John 1:12. Justification of the shortness of the Epistle.

πολλὰ ἔχων ὑμῖν γράφειν] says the apostle, conscious as he was of having only given a few brief hints of that which was agitating his mind.

οὐκ ἐβουλήθην διὰ χάρτου καὶ μέλανος] From the idea γράφειν the more general idea of communication is to be supplied.

χάρτης “is the Egyptian paper (papyrus), and probably the finer augustan sort, which served for letters (Hug, Einl. I. 106);” de Wette.

μέλαν, besides here, only in 3 John 1:13; 2 Corinthians 3:3. The following words: ἀλλὰ ἐλπίζω, state the reason of οὐκ ἐβουλήθην; by ἀλλά the reason is expressed in the form of an antithesis.

γενέσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς] In the phrase: γίγνεσθαι πρός, the ideas of motion and of rest are both included; comp. γιγν. εἰς, Acts 21:17; Acts 25:15; the construction with πρός: 1 Corinthians 16:10; comp. John 10:35; Acts 10:13, etc.

καὶ στόμα πρὸς στόμα λαλῆσαι] An imitation of the Hebrew פֶּה אֶל־פֶּה, Numbers 12:8; comp. πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον, 1 Corinthians 13:12. Similar combinations in the classics also; Xen. Mem. ii. 6. 32, στόμα πρὸς στόμα is used of a kiss.

ἵνα ἡ χάρα κ.τ.λ.] comp. 1 John 1:4. With the reading ἡμῶν (see the critical notes) mutual joy is meant; comp. Romans 1:11-12.

Expositor's Greek Testament

2 John 1:12-13. The Conclusion. “Though I have many things to write to you, I would not by paper and ink; but I hope to get to you, and talk face to face, that our joy may be fulfilled. The children of thine elect sister salute thee.”

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12. Having many things to write] The First Epistle will give us some idea of what these were.

I would not write with paper and ink] There is here no ‘write’ in the Greek; and in the first clause ‘write’ is almost too limited in meaning for γράφειν, which like our ‘say’ covers a variety of methods of communication. Having many things to say to you, I would not (say them) by means of paper and ink. Perhaps we may here trace a sign of the failing powers of an old man, to whom writing is serious fatigue.

‘Paper’ (χάρτης) occurs nowhere else in N.T.; but it occurs in LXX. of Jeremiah 36:23; and its diminutive (χαρτίον) is frequent in that chapter. In 3Ma 4:20 we have a cognate word (χαρτήρια), which probably, like ‘paper’ here, means Egyptian papyrus, as distinct from the more expensive ‘parchment’ (μεμβράναι) mentioned 2 Timothy 4:13. But both papyrus and parchment were costly, which may account for the Apostle’s brevity. See Dict. of the Bible, writing, and Dict. of Antiquities, liber.

‘Ink’ (μέλαν) is mentioned again 3 John 1:13; elsewhere in N.T. only 2 Corinthians 3:3 : comp. LXX. of Jeremiah 36:18. It was made of lampblack and gall-juice, or more simply of soot and water.

but I trust] Or, as R. V., but I hope: the verb (ἐλπίζω) is frequent in N.T., and there seems to be no reason for changing the usual rendering: comp. 1 Timothy 3:14; Php 2:19; Php 2:23. A.V. wavers needlessly between ‘hope’ and ‘trust’.

to come unto you] More exactly, according to the true reading (γένεσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς), to appear before you: literally, ‘to come to be in your presence’. Comp. 1 Corinthians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 16:10. The phrase is used of words as well as of persons: John 10:35; Acts 10:13, and as a various reading, Acts 7:31. In all these cases the coming is expressed with a certain amount of solemnity.

The ‘you’ (ὑμῖν, ὑμᾶς) in this verse includes the children mentioned in 2 John 1:1. This, when contrasted with ‘thee’ (σε, σοι) in 2 John 1:5, seems to be in favour of understanding the ‘lady’ literally. The change from ‘thee’ to ‘you’ seems more in harmony with a matron and her family than with a Church and its members.

face to face] Literally, mouth to mouth: it is not the phrase which is used in 1 Corinthians 13:12 and Genesis 32:31. Comp. Numbers 12:8; Jeremiah 39 (32):4.

that our joy may be full] Better, as R. V., that your (AB and Vulgate) joy may be fulfilled: see on 1 John 1:4. “The high associations with which” the phrase “is connected lead us to suppose that it would scarcely have been applied by S. John to any meeting but one of peculiar solemnity after a cruel and prolonged separation which had threatened to be eternal” (Bishop Alexander). Comp. Romans 1:12.

12, 13. Conclusion

12, 13. The strong resemblance to the Conclusion of the Third Epistle seems to shew that the two letters are nearly contemporaneous.

Bengel's Gnomen

2 John 1:12. Πολλὰ) many things, of a joyful character. This therefore, which the apostle writes, was especially necessary, and admitted of no delay.—οὐκ ἠβουλήθην, I did not wish) The very task of writing is not always pleasing to a heart full of sacred love.—διὰ χάρτου καὶ μέλανος, with paper and ink) Ταπείνωσις,[7] a lowering of the style. Put in antithesis to face to face. For this short Epistle, the apostle made use of paper, and not parchment.

[7] Ταπείνωσις, as water for baptism, Acts 10:47.—T.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 12, 13. - 3. THE CONCLUSION OF THE EPISTLE. It is in their openings and conclusions, and especially in the latter, that the Second and Third Epistles have so strong a resemblance that we are almost compelled to assign them not merely to the same author, but to the same period in the author's life. St. John had a tenacious memory, as his writings prove; but we may doubt whether so trivial a matter as the mode of beginning and ending a short letter would have remained for years together in his mind. We may reasonably conclude from their similarity that these two Epistles are separated from one another by only a short interval of time. Verse 12. - Having many things to write. This remark is almost conclusive against the supposition that the Second Epistle was sent as a companion-letter to the First. The hypothesis has little or nothing to support it. I would not (do so) by means of paper and ink. It is astonishing that any one should suppose that intercourse on paper is here opposed to spiritual intercourse: obviously it is opposed to conversation. The elder just writes what is of urgent importance to prevent fatal mistakes during the present time, and leaves everything else until he can talk matters over with her. Ξάρις is mentioned nowhere else in the New Testament, but is found in the Septuagint (Jeremiah 36:23); it probably means "papyrus." Μέλαν occurs in the parallel passage 3 John 1:13, and in 2 Corinthians 3:3; it was commonly made of lampblack or other soot, and hence the name. But I hope to come unto you; literally, I hope to come to be γένεσθαι at your house. Πρὸς ὑμᾶς is here very much the same as the French chez vous. So also πρὸς ἡμᾶς, Matthew 13:56 (comp. 1 Corinthians 16:7; Galatians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; Philemon 1:13). "Face to face" στόμα πρὸς στόμα is exactly the French bouche a bouche. The phrase occurs only here and 3 John 1:14 in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 13:12 we have πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον; but there the emphatic thing is that the two should see one another. Here the special point is that they should converse with one another; and this is more clearly expressed by "month to mouth" than by "face to face." For the phrase, "that your joy may be fulfilled," see note on 1 John 1:4, to which passage the apostle may here be consciously referring. That was ever one main purpose of his teaching - the perfecting of Christian joy. 2 John 1:12

Vincent's Word Studies

I would not (οὐκ ἐβουλήθην)

See on Matthew 1:19.

Paper (χάρτου)

Only here in the New Testament. The Egyptian papyrus or byblus, Cyperus papyrus, anciently very common, but not now found within the limits of the country. It is a tall, smooth flag or reed, with a large triangular stalk, containing the pith which furnished the paper. The paper was manufactured by cutting the pith into strips, arranging them horizontally, and then placing across them another layer of strips, uniting the two layers by a paste, and subjecting the whole to a heavy pressure. The upper and middle portions of the reed were used for this purpose. The fact that the plant is no longer found is significant in connection with Isaiah's prophecy that "the flags (Hebrews suph, papyrus) shall waste away" (Isaiah 19:6). The plant grew in shallow water or in marshes, and is accordingly represented on the monuments as at the side of a stream or in irrigated lands. The Jews wrote on various materials, such as the leaves of the olive and palm, the rind of the pomegranate, and the skins of animals. The tablet (πινακίδιον, Luke 1:63) was in very common use. It consisted of thin pieces of wood, strung together, and either plain, or covered with papyrus or with wax.

Ink (μέλανος)

Lit., that which is black. The word occurs only once outside of John's Epistles (2 Corinthians 3:3), and only three times in all (2 John 1:12; 3 John 1:13). Ink was prepared of soot or of vegetable or mineral substances. Gum and vitriol were also used. Colored inks, red and gold, were also employed.

To come unto you (γενέσθαι πρὸς ὑμὰς)

Or, to be present with you. For the phrase, see 1 Corinthians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 16:10.

Face to face (στόμα πρὸς στόμα)

Lit, mouth to mouth. Compare πρόσωπον προς πρόσωπον, face to face, 1 Corinthians 8:12.

Full (πεπληρωμένη)

Rev., rightly, fulfilled.