Luke 24:13

Luke 24:13. Two of them, i.e., of those spoken of at the close of Luke 24:9. It is unlikely that they were Apostles (comp. Luke 24:33). One was named ‘Cleopas' (Luke 24:18), but we know nothing further. The name seems to be == Cleopatrus (as Antipas == Antipatros), and a different one from Clopas (or ‘Cleophas' in the E. V.) mentioned in John 19:25. We reject the view that this was Alphaeus (Clopas), and his companion, ‘James the son of Alphaeus.' This theory would identify this appearance with that spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15:7. Conjecture has been busy in naming the companion of Cleopas: Luke himself; Nathanael; others, supposing that Luke 24:34 is the language of these two disciples, have thought that it was Simon Zelotes, or Simon Peter. This is least likely of all.

Emmaus. The site of this village has been much discussed. The name itself means warm water, and a number of places were thus called, in each case doubtless because of a warm spring in the neighborhood (comp. the French Aix, attached to several watering places). There was a town of this name about one hundred and seventy-six stadia from Jerusalem, in the plain of Judea (see 1Ma 3:40), called Nicopolis in the third century. This was early confounded with the place here spoken of, and a few manuscripts, among them the oldest (Sinaitic), insert ‘one hundred' before ‘sixty.' Still, as Josephus (7, 6, 6) speaks of another Emmaus as sixty stadia from Jerusalem, we should look for it at that distance, especially as Nicopolis was too far away to permit of a return to Jerusalem the same day. If we place the return later, we introduce a difficulty in regard to the appearance of the Lord, narrated in Luke 24:36, etc. Opinion is divided between two places, now called respectively Kubeibeh and Kulonich, both west of Jerusalem (the latter more to the north).

Sixty furlongs (stadia) = about eight English miles. They therefore probably left Jerusalem early in the afternoon, thus reaching Emmaus about sundown (see on Luke 24:29).