King James Bible Dictionary

The expression in the Authorized Version (Isaiah 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.

General references
2 John 1:12
Parchment

[WRITING]

PA'PER, noun [Latin papyrus, the name of an Egyptian plant, from which was made a kind of paper ]

1. A substance formed into thin sheets on which letters and figures are written or printed. paper is made of different materials; but among us it is usually made of linen or cotton rags. A fine paper is made of silk, particularly for bank-notes, which require to be very thin.

2. A piece of paper

3. A single sheet printed or written; as a daily paper; a weekly paper; a periodical paper; referring to essays, journals, newspapers, etc.

4. Any written instrument, whether note, receipt, bill, invoice, bond, memorial, deed, and the like. The papers lie on the speaker's table.

They brought a paper to me to be signed.

5. A promissory note or notes or a bill of exchange; as negotiable paper

6. Hangings printed or stamped; paper for covering the walls of rooms.

PA'PER, adjective Made of paper; consisting of paper

1. Thin; slight; as a paper wall.

PA'PER, verb transitive To cover with paper; to furnish with paper hangings; as, to paper a room or a house.

1. To register. [Not used.]

2. To fold or inclose in paper

PAPER-CRED'IT, noun Evidences of debt; promissory notes, etc. passing current in commercial transactions.

1. Notes or bills emitted by public authority, promising the payment of money. The revolution in noun America was carried on by means of paper-credit

PA'PER-FACED, adjective Having a face as white as paper.

PA'PER-KITE, noun A light frame covered with paper for flying in the air like a kite.

PA'PER-MAKER, noun One that manufactures paper.

PA'PER-MILL, noun A mill in which paper is manufactured.

PAPER-MONEY, noun Notes or bills issued by authority, and promising the payment of money, circulated as the representative of coin. We apply the word to notes or bills issued by a state or by a banking corporation; rarely or never to private notes or bills of exchange, though the latter may be included.