Paper

The word paper in the Authorized Version of Isaiah 19:7 translates the Hebrew aroth, referring to the papyrus plant that grew abundantly along the Nile Delta in ancient Egypt. Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) was the principal writing material of the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean world, manufactured by cutting the pith of the plant into strips, pressing them together, and drying them into sheets. Egypt was the primary supplier of papyrus to the ancient world.

In the New Testament, the Greek chartes (2 John 12) clearly means a sheet of papyrus writing material, as John writes that he has many things to say but prefers not to write them with paper and ink, hoping to speak face to face. This indicates that papyrus was the ordinary medium for correspondence in the first-century Roman world. Parchment (made from animal skin) was a more durable alternative used for important documents, including the parchments Paul requests in 2 Timothy 4:13.