Emmaus is a significant location mentioned in the New Testament, specifically in the Gospel of Luke. It is best known as the village to which two of Jesus' disciples were traveling on the day of His resurrection. The account of this journey is found in Luke 24:13-35.

Biblical Account

In the Gospel of Luke, the narrative begins with two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a journey of about seven miles. As they walked, they discussed the recent events concerning Jesus' crucifixion and the reports of His resurrection. "Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:13).

As they conversed, Jesus Himself approached and began walking with them, though they were kept from recognizing Him. He inquired about their discussion, and they expressed their disappointment and confusion over the recent events. They recounted how Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet powerful in word and deed, had been condemned to death and crucified. They also mentioned the women's report of the empty tomb and the vision of angels declaring Jesus alive.

Jesus then explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets. As they approached Emmaus, the disciples urged Him to stay with them, as it was nearly evening. "But they urged Him, 'Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.' So He went in to stay with them" (Luke 24:29).

During the meal, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and began to give it to them. At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, but He disappeared from their sight. The disciples immediately returned to Jerusalem to report their encounter with the risen Christ to the Eleven and those with them.

Historical and Geographical Context

The exact location of Emmaus has been a subject of debate among scholars and historians. Several sites have been proposed, including Emmaus Nicopolis, located approximately 19 miles west of Jerusalem, and the village of El-Qubeibeh, about 7 miles northwest of Jerusalem. The latter is often favored due to its proximity to the distance mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.

Emmaus was a common name for towns in the ancient world, derived from the Hebrew word "Hammat," meaning "hot spring." This suggests that the village may have been known for its thermal springs, a feature that would have been significant in the arid landscape of the region.

Theological Significance

The Emmaus narrative holds profound theological significance. It highlights the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah and underscores the importance of Scripture in understanding Jesus' mission and identity. The disciples' journey from despair to faith mirrors the transformative power of encountering the risen Christ.

Moreover, the breaking of bread in Emmaus is often seen as a foreshadowing of the Eucharist, emphasizing the presence of Christ in the communal meal. This event reinforces the belief in the real presence of Jesus in the sacrament and the importance of fellowship among believers.

The Emmaus account also serves as a reminder of the risen Christ's continual presence with His followers, even when He is not immediately recognized. It encourages believers to seek understanding through Scripture and to remain open to the ways in which Jesus reveals Himself in their lives.Emmaus

people despised or obscure

Emmaus

The village where our Lord revealed himself to two of his disciples, on the afternoon of his resurrection-day. It lay about seven and a half miles, sixty furlongs, northwest from Jerusalem, Luke 24:13 33. Some manuscripts, however, read one hundred and sixty furlongs, instead of sixty; and Eusebius and Jerome locate Emmaus at the ancient Nicopolis, twenty miles west-north-west of Jerusalem, where a village called Amwas still exists. Dr. Robinson inclines to this location.

Hot baths, a village "three-score furlongs" from jerusalem, where our Lord had an interview with two of his disciples on the day of his resurrection (Luke 24:13). This has been identified with the modern el-Kubeibeh, lying over 7 miles north-west of Jerusalem. This name, el-Kubeibeh, meaning "little dome," is derived from the remains of the Crusaders' church yet to be found there. Others have identified it with the modern Khurbet Khamasa i.e., "the ruins of Khamasa", about 8 miles south-west of Jerusalem, where there are ruins also of a Crusaders' church. Its site, however has been much disputed. EMMAUS

e-ma'-us, em'-a-us (Emmaous, derivation uncertain, but probably from chammath, "a hot spring"):

Josephus (BJ, IV, i, 3) says: "Now Emmaus, if it be interpreted, may be rendered `a warm bath' for therein is a spring of warm water useful for healing." Here he is referring to the hot springs near Tiberias. Possibly the same Greek name may not always have been derived from the same Hebrew, and as Cheyne suggests (2) may have come from ha-motsah (see below).

1. Emmaus of the Apocrypha:

A place where Judas Maccabeus defeated Gorgias (APC 1Macc 4); it was "in the plain" (APC 1Macc 3:40); it was subsequently fortified by Bacchides (APC 1Macc 9:50). It is frequently mentioned by Josephus (Ant., XIV, xi, 2; BJ, I, xi, 2; II, v, 1; xx, 4; IV, viii, 1; V, i, 6), and also in the Talmud and Midrash. It is now the modern mud-village of `Amwas, 20 miles along, and a little North of, the main road from Jerusalem to Jaffa. In the 3rd century it was called Nicopolis and was an episcopal see; in early Christian times it was famous for a spring of reputed healing qualities.

2. Emmaus of Luke:

The Emmaus of Luke 24:13, a village 60 furlongs (stadia) from Jerusalem. Early Christian tradition appears to have identified it with (1) and hence, to harmonize the distance, some manuscripts have 160 furlongs. Eusebius and Jerome place this Emmaus at `Amwas; but in the first place

(1) was a city and not a village (kome), and secondly

(2) the distance, 40 miles there and back, is an almost impossible one for the narrative.

In Crusading times this difficulty appears to have been realized, and on what grounds is not known, Kubeibeh at just over 60 stadia, Northwest of Jerusalem, was selected as the site of Emmaus. There a fine church was built which has in recent years been rebuilt and today a Franciscan hospice and school, attached to the church, and a newer German Roman Catholic hospice, combine with the considerable picturesqueness of the place itself to fortify the tradition.

A much more probable site is Quloniyeh, a village about 35 stadia from Jerusalem, on the road to Jaffa. Josephus narrates (BJ, VII, vi, 6) that Vespasian "assigned a place for 800 men only whom he had dismissed from his army which he gave them for their habitation; it is called Emmaus and is distant from Jerusalem 60 furlongs." This is almost certainly the Emmaus of Luke; it is highly probable that the name quloniyeh is derived from the fact of its being this Colonia. Close to this place is a ruin known as Bet Mizza, which is probably the Mozah (ha-motsah) of Joshua 18:26 which in the Talmud (Cukk. 45) is also described as a colonia. Today it is a "colony" of Jews who have revived and always use the old name Motsah for their settlement.

Other suggestions for this Emmaus are

(a) el Khamsa, considerably over 60 stadia Southwest of Jerusalem (Conder);

(b) Koriet el `enab, some 10 stadia farther a1ong the Jerus-Jaffa road than Kuloniyeh (LB, etc.); and

(c) `Artas, S. of Bethlehem, where remains of Roman baths have been found (Mrs. Finn). In not one of the places suggested are there any hot springs.

E. W. G. Masterman

1695. Emmaous -- Emmaus, a place 60 stadia (7.5 miles) west of Jer ...
... 1694, 1695. Emmaous. 1696 . Emmaus, a place 60 stadia (7.5 miles) west of Jer. ...
yem Definition Emmaus, a place 60 stadia (7.5 miles) west of Jer. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1695.htm - 6k

2810. Kleopas -- Cleopas, a Christian
... Kleopas Phonetic Spelling: (kleh-op'-as) Short Definition: Cleopas Definition: Cleopas,
one of the two companions of the risen Jesus from Jerusalem to Emmaus. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2810.htm - 6k

The Meal at Emmaus
... LUKE Chaps. XIII to XXIV THE MEAL AT EMMAUS. 'And it came to pass, as He sat at
meat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.31. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/the meal at emmaus.htm

Easter the Walk to Emmaus.
... Easter The Walk to Emmaus. V. The Walk to Emmaus. 7,7,7,7. Trauernd und mit bangem
Sehnen. ... Sad with longing, sick with fears,. Toward Emmaus slowly go. ...
/.../lyra germanica second series the christian life/easter the walk to emmaus.htm

The Walk to Emmaus
... The DESIRE of AGES Chapter 83 The Walk to Emmaus. [This chapter is based on Luke
24:13-33.] ... They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the desire of ages/chapter 83 the walk to.htm

Emmaus. Kiriath-Jearim.
... A Chorographical Century. Chapters 41-50 Chapter 45 Emmaus. Kiriath-jearim.
"From Beth-horon to Emmaus it was hilly.""It was sixty ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 45 emmaus kiriath-jearim.htm

The Walk to Emmaus. Ch. 24:13-35
... VII. THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION. CHS. 22 TO 24 L. The Walk To Emmaus. Ch.
24:13-35. 13 And behold, two of them were going that very ...
/.../erdman/the gospel of luke an exposition/l the walk to emmaus.htm

Eight Easter Lessons Learned at Emmaus. Luke xxiv. 13-35.
... XLVIII. EIGHT EASTER LESSONS LEARNED AT EMMAUS. LUKE xxiv. 13-35. I."When friends
speak of good things, Jesus draws near. "These things" which concern Jesus. ...
/.../champness/broken bread/xlviii eight easter lessons learned.htm

The Appearance at Emmaus.
... HIS RESURRECTION. SUNDAY"THE DAY OF RESURRECTION THE APPEARANCE AT EMMAUS.
And behold, two of them were going that very day to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/barton/his life/the appearance at emmaus.htm

Christ Appears to the Women at the Tomb; to Mary; to the Two ...
... CHAPTER VIII. THE RESURRECTION Section 300. Christ appears to the Women at
the Tomb; to Mary; to the two Disciples on the Way to Emmaus. ...
/.../section 300 christ appears to.htm

Introductory Notice to Julius Africanus
... It appears that in ad226 he was performing some duty in behalf of Emmaus (Nicopolis)
in Palestine; but Heraclas, who had acted subordinately as Origen's ...
/.../the writings of julius africanus/introductory notice to julius africanus.htm

The Forty Days
... proofs.'. By sight, repeated, to individuals, to companies, to Mary in her solitary
sadness, to Peter the penitent, to the two on the road to Emmaus. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture the acts/the forty days.htm

Emmaus (1 Occurrence)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. EMMAUS. ... 2. Emmaus of Luke: The Emmaus of
Luke 24:13, a village 60 furlongs (stadia) from Jerusalem. ...
/e/emmaus.htm - 10k

Nicanor (1 Occurrence)
... The campaign began in 166 BC; the Syrians were defeated at Emmaus (1 Maccabees
3:57;), while Gorgias at a later stage gained a victory at Jamnia over a body of ...
/n/nicanor.htm - 14k

Emma'us (1 Occurrence)
Emma'us. Emmaus, Emma'us. Emmer . Multi-Version Concordance Emma'us (1 Occurrence).
Luke ... RSV). Emmaus, Emma'us. Emmer . Reference Bible.
/e/emma'us.htm - 6k

Cleopas (2 Occurrences)
... (abbreviation of Cleopatros), one of the two disciples with whom Jesus conversed
on the way to Emmaus on the day of the resurrection (Luke 24:18). ...
/c/cleopas.htm - 8k

Nicopolis (1 Occurrence)
... and 9:50. The earlier city (Emmaus) was burnt by Quintilius Varus, but
was rebuilt in 223 AD as Nicopolis. The Nicopolis, however ...
/n/nicopolis.htm - 10k

Lysias (3 Occurrences)
... Of this force Judas defeated the two divisions under Nicanor and Gorgias near Emmaus
(166 BC), and in the following year Lysias himself at Bethsura (1 ...
/l/lysias.htm - 12k

Gorgias
... Maccabees 4:1-24 is recorded a night attack by Gorgias with 5,000 foot and 1,000
horse upon the camp of Judas Maccabeus in the neighborhood of Emmaus, in which ...
/g/gorgias.htm - 7k

Furlongs (5 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). Luke 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called
Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. ...
/f/furlongs.htm - 7k

Threescore (87 Occurrences)
... Luke 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus,
which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. (KJV ASV). ...
/t/threescore.htm - 33k

Eight (81 Occurrences)
... Luke 24:13 On that same day two of the disciples were walking to Emmaus,
a village seven or eight miles from Jerusalem, (WEY). John ...
/e/eight.htm - 31k

What is the Walk to Emmaus / Emmaus Walk, and is it biblical? | GotQuestions.org

What happened on the road to Emmaus? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Cleopas in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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