A writer’s inkhorn was the small case a scribe wore at his side to hold ink. In Ezekiel 9 it belongs to one man among six who come toward the temple. The other five carry weapons, but this man is clothed in linen and has the inkhorn by his side. The glory of Israel’s God calls to him, and when his task is done he reports, saying, “I have done as thou hast commanded me.” The chapter is a hard vision of judgment on a city, and the man with the inkhorn is the one set apart to mark and record. The first eleven verses of Ezekiel 9 tell the whole scene.
3 verses
And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
Matthew George Easton, 1897
The Hebrew word so rendered means simply a round vessel or cup for containing ink, which was generally worn by writers in the girdle (Ezek. 9:2, 3,11). The word “inkhorn” was used by the translators, because in former times in this country horns were used for containing ink.