INK (דְּיﯴ, H1902, μέλαν, black). A writing fluid whose chief ingredient was soot or black carbon. It was mixed with gum or oil for use on parchment, or with a metallic substance for use on papyrus. The early use of metallic ink in Israel is shown in the Lachish Letters (c. 586 b.c.). The DSS were written with ink made of carbon. The Letter of Aristeas says that the copy of the law sent to Ptolemy II was written in gold. The Egyptians must have used a good quality ink, as the bright colors in some papyri show. The ingredients for making ink were kept in a writing case. The word is used once in the OT (Jer 36:18) and three times in the NT (2 Cor 3:3; 2 John 12; 3 John 13).