Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 24:13

"And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem." — Luke 24:13 (ASV)

And, behold, two of them.—The long and singularly interesting narrative that follows is unique to Saint Luke and must be regarded as among the “gleaning of the grapes,” which rewarded his researches, even after the full vintage had apparently been gathered by others. The Emmaus in Galilee, about a mile from Tiberias, was famous for its medicinal warm springs (Josephus, Antiquities XVIII.2, §3; Wars IV.1, §3). If the narrative had referred to it, we might have supposed Saint Luke to have visited it for that reason.

We have no record of any such springs in the Emmaus near Jerusalem, which Josephus also names (Wars VII.6, §6) as being sixty stadia, or furlongs, from Jerusalem.

The name Emmaus, however, as Josephus states (as noted above), was probably significant. It is connected with the modern Arabic term Hammâm or Hummum, meaning a “bath,” and therefore indicates—much like the Latin “Aquae” or the French “Aix”—the presence of such springs. If so, this same hypothesis may apply here.

In the case of the Emmaus (later Nicopolis) in the plain of Philistia, a fountain mentioned by early writers (Eusebius, Chron. 41) was famous for its healing powers.

From the prominence given to the name Cleopas, we can hardly doubt that he was Saint Luke’s informant.

We are not told when the disciples started, but since it was toward evening when they reached Emmaus, their departure could hardly have been before their midday meal.

The fullness with which the whole account is given may well lead us to believe that it was recorded at the time, directly from the narrator’s lips.