INK is mentioned once in OT (Jer 36:18). Ex 32:33 and Nu 5:23 are adduced as evidence that the old Hebrew ink (derived from lamp-black [?]) could he washed off. From the bright colours that still survive in some papyri, it is evident that the ink used by the Egyptians must have been of a superior kind. The NT term for 'ink,' occurring three times (2Co 3:3; 2Jo 1:12; 3Jo 1:13), is melan (lit. 'black'). See, further, under Writing.