Annotations for 3 John

1 Gaius. There is no need to identify this Gaius with others of the same name; this name was one of the most frequent Roman names.

2 I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you. This is a standard greeting in many ancient letters, which quite often began with a prayer for the reader’s health, frequently including the prayer that all would go well with the person. This greeting might be similar to a modern-day letter writer saying, “I hope you are well,” but it represents an actual prayer that all is well with Gaius (see note on 1Th 3:11).

4 my children. Teachers sometimes viewed their disciples as their children. John may also speak of them as his converts (cf. note on Gal 4:19).

5 what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. The Mediterranean and Middle East viewed hospitality as a key virtue; Jewish people, in particular, felt obligated to help fellow Jews. Because inns were usually of poor quality and doubled as brothels, Jewish travelers usually preferred to stay with fellow Jews when possible. Letters of recommendation could inform prospective hosts of the guests’ trustworthiness. Christians probably adapted such customs.

6 send them . . . in a manner that honors God. Hospitality often included generously providing for the guest as they continued their journey.

7 for the sake of the Name. Jewish people sometimes spoke of God’s sacred name, YHWH, as “the Name”; this may be applied to Jesus here. receiving no help from the pagans. Traveling sages and speakers often made their livings from the crowds to whom they spoke, although others took fees or were supported by wealthy patrons. People sometimes suspected as greedy those sages and speakers who depended on their hearers. Evangelists instead depended on the churches.

3 John

Writing Materials in the Ancient World

John’s statement that he was writing “with pen and ink” (3Jn 13) sounds modern, but in fact ancient people used writing materials that were far removed from what we think of as pen and paper. Ancient texts were written on the following materials:

• Stone. This could be ordinary limestone or sandstone, or, for a small inscription, a semiprecious stone such as amethyst, turquoise or opal. The writing tool could be a chisel or metal stylus, but sometimes people wrote on stone with ink. In some instances the stone had a coat of plaster over it, as in Dt 27:2–3. Stone, including marble, was widely used for monumental inscriptions describing the feats of kings, but simple graffiti was also cut into stone.

• Metal. This material was primarily used for commemorative and decorative objects, such as for inscriptions on a silver bowl. Two silver amulets inscribed with the text of Nu 6:24–27 were discovered near Jerusalem, while a copper scroll was located at Qumran.

• Wooden Tablets. These could be coated with wax or stucco for the writing surface. Wax was especially useful since one could inscribe it with a pointed stylus and then rub out the writing and reuse the tablet.

• Clay Tablets. Clay was the medium for cuneiform. While still moist, it would be inscribed with a sharpened stick to create the distinctive wedge-shaped cuneiform script. If baked, tablets became virtually indestructible, and thus many have survived through the centuries.

• Ostraca. An ostracon is a common potsherd (a broken piece of pottery). It could be inscribed with a metal stylus or written on with ink. Ostraca were handy for short notes and letters. In Athens voters used them to write down the name of a citizen they wanted to send into exile or to “ostracize” (hence the name).

• Leather. Leather pages are often referred to as vellum or parchment. In Israel leather was the medium of choice for writing the books of the Scriptures. The Isaiah scroll from Qumran, e.g., is composed of leather, with the writing done in black ink.

• Papyrus. This was the closest thing to paper from the ancient world. The Egyptian papyrus plant was cut into strips and pressed into sheets that were then glued together. This made for a strong, smooth writing surface, and papyrus naturally became very popular in the ancient world. The ink on a papyrus could be erased and the papyrus reused; an erased and reused papyrus document is called a “palimpsest.”

• Scrolls and Codices. For almost all of Biblical history, papyrus or leather was formed into long strips and rolled up on scrolls. However, around the first century AD people began to stitch together one side of a group of papyrus or leather leaves to create the equivalent of the modern book, called a codex. By the early second century AD, the early Christians adopted the idea of the codex, and thus most early Christian Bibles are in the form of codices rather than scrolls.

• Ink. John specifically mentioned “ink.” In the ancient world ink was usually black, made from carbon mixed with a natural gum. Red ink, however, was also widely used.

The literacy rate was especially high in the Greco-Roman world, and writing materials, although difficult to work with by modern standards, were widely available. Letter writing was common, and the relative ease of communication facilitated the missionary and pastoral work of the apostles. ◆

Inkwell from the Scriptorium at Qumran, before AD 68.

The Schøyen Collection, Oslo and London, MS 1655, www.schoyencollection.com

Go to Index of Articles in Canonical Order

9 Diotrephes . . . will not welcome us. Apparently Diotrephes was a leader of another house church; he refuses to show hospitality to the missionaries who have letters of recommendation from the elder. To reject a person’s representatives or those recommended by a person was to disrespect the person who had written on their behalf.

12 Demetrius . . . We also speak well of him. Those influenced by Diotrephes refuse to provide hospitality for Demetrius, so John provides this letter of recommendation for Demetrius (see note on Ac 9:2) so that Gaius’s house church will welcome him.

13 I have much to write you. Sometimes ancient letters closed as John does here. Most letter writers employed scribes, and if John is writing by hand, he may well wish to close quickly. pen and ink. See note on 2Jn 12.

14 The friends here . . . the friends there. If “friends here” is a title for a group, it probably refers to fellow Christians in the place from which the elder is writing; these Christians may have borrowed the idea from Epicurean philosophers, whose philosophical communities consisted especially of “friends.” More likely, it reflects and honors a title given by Jesus (Jn 15:15).