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EMMAUS
Town in Judea that appears in Luke (see 24:13) and also in 1 Maccabees (3:40, 57). It was the destination of two disciples to whom Jesus appeared after the Crucifixion. Following the resurrection, Cleopas and a friend were going to Emmaus when they encountered another traveler. They walked the road and talked together, but the disciples did not recognize that the stranger was Jesus. Jesus asked them the nature of their conversation, and he was told of the Crucifixion, the empty tomb, and their discouragement that things had not worked out as they hoped. Jesus then rebuked them, and “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk 24:27, rsv). When they reached their destination, Jesus accepted an invitation to spend the night. As they ate the evening meal, he blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them to eat. At that moment they recognized him. After Jesus vanished from their sight, they returned to Jerusalem to report the event to the apostles.
Though Emmaus, which means “warm wells,” was near Jerusalem, its exact location has never been determined. Several locations have been suggested:
1. Colonia (Qaloniyeh), about four miles (6.5 kilometers) west of Jerusalem on the main road to Joppa.
2. El-Qubeibeh, about seven miles (11.3 kilometers) northwest of Jerusalem on a Roman road passing by Nebi Samwil. Its identification with Emmaus dates back to AD 1099, when the Crusaders found a Roman fort there named Castellum Emmaus.
3. Abu Ghosh, about nine miles (14.5 kilometers) west of Jerusalem. Identified with the OT Kiriath-jearim, it is also known as Kiryat el-Enab, where a Crusader church was built over a Roman fort. This site appears to be too far from Jerusalem to be the biblical Emmaus.
4. Amwas, also known as Nicapolis, about 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) west of Jerusalem on the Jaffa road. This is the Emmaus of 1 Maccabees 3:40, 57. This site has the earliest claim to being Emmaus and also has two “warm wells.” Eusebius and Jerome accepted it as the site. The primary objection to its being the NT Emmaus is its distance from Jerusalem, which exceeds the distance stated by Luke, as given in several manuscripts.
No conclusive evidence has been offered to substantiate the claim for any of these sites as being Emmaus; hence its location remains unknown.