EMMAUS
405
EMMERAM
his enemies, Rasin, King of Syria, and Phacee, King of the Gospel (Luke, xxiv, l.S-35), where Christ mani-
Israel (Is., vii, 1-9). And when the Prophet tried a festedHimself to two of His Disciples. Such is, indeed,
second time to restore his confidence, Achaz refused to the tradition of the Cliureh of Jerusalem, attested as
ask for the sign which (jod was ready to grant in con- early as the fourth century by Eusebius of Citsarea,
firmation of the prophetic promise (vii, 10-12). The
Prophet, therefore, forces, in a way. King Achaz to
confide in God, showing that the Messias, the hope of
^srael and the glory of the house of David, implies by
his very name "Emmanuel", or "God with us", the
Divine presence among liis people. A number of the
Fathers, e. g. St. Irenajus, Lactantius, St. Epiphanius,
Titus of Bostra, and St. Jerome, a tradition confirmed
by all pilgrims, at least to the time of the Crusades;
it may even date back to the third century, to Julius
Africanus and Origen. It is also supported by many
Biblical commentaries, some of which are as old as the
fourth or the fifth century; in these the Emmaus of
the Gospel is said to have stood at 160 stadia from
St. Chrysostom, and Theodoret, regard the name Jerusalem, the modern 'Am'was being at 176 stadia.
" Emmanuel ", not merely as a pledge of Divine assists
ance, but also as an expression of the mystery of the
Incarnation by virtue of which the Messias will be
"God with us" in very deed.
Hagen, Lexicon BibUcum (Paris, 1907), II. 170; Mangenot in ViG., Diet, de la Bible, s. v.; Condamin, Le Livre (V Isaie (Paris, 1905), pp. 62-67; Seisenberger in Kirchenlci., s. v.; Knab- ENBAUER. Erklarung des Frophiten hnias iKreihurs. ISSl), p. 125; Idem, Commenia I, 185 sqq.; Cheyne Encydoptsdia Bibl (New York, 1905), 2162 sqq.
A. J. Maas.
Emmaus, a titular
see in Pal a; s tin a
Prima, suffragan of
('tesarea. It is men-
tioned for the first
time in 106-165 B.C.,
when Jvidas Macha-
beus defeated there
the army of Gor-
gias (I Mach., iii, 40,
iv, 25). A little later
the Syrian general
Bacchides fortified
and garrisoned it
(Josephus, Ant. Jud.,
XIII, i, 3). InA.D.4,
during the rebellion
of Athrongius against
the Romans, the in-
habitants left their
city, which was,
In spite of its antiquity, this tradition does not seem
to be well founded. Most manuscripts and versions
place Emmaus at only sixty stadia from Jerusalem,
and they are more numerous and generally more
ancient than those of the former group. It seems,
therefore, very probable that the number 160 is a cor-
rection of (Origen and his school to make the Gospel
text agree with the Palestinian tradition of their time.
Moreover, the dis-
tance of 100 stadia
would imply about
six hours' walk,
which is inadmis-
sible, for the Dis-
ciples had only gone
out to the country
and could return to
Jersualem before the
gates were shut
(Mark, xvi, 12; Luke,
xxiv, .33). Finally,
the Emmaus of the
Gospel is said to be
a village, while 'Am-
'was was the flourish-
ing capital of a " top-
archy". Josephus
(Ant. Jud., VII, vi,
6) mentions at sixty
stadia from Jerusa-
lem a village called
Ammaus, where Ves-
pasian and Titus sta-
tioned 800 veterans.
This is evidently the Emmaus of the Gospel. But it
must have been destroyed at the time of the revolt
of Bar-Cocheba (a. d. 132-35) under Hadrian, and its
site was unknown as early as the third century. Ori-
gen and his friends merely placed the Gospel Emmaus
at Nicopolis, the only Emmaus known at their time.
The identifications of Koubeibeh, Abou Gosh, Koulo-
nieh, Beit Mizzeh, etc. with Emmaus, as proposed by
some modern scholars, are inadmissible.
Reland, Palaslina (Utrecht, 1714), 425-30, 758-60; Pales- tine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1876. 1879, 1881, 1883. 1884. 1885, etc.; Basbi, Emmalis, citth delta Palestina (Turin, 1888); Bcsselu, L'Emmaiis evangelico (Milan, 1885); Domenichelli, L'Emmaiis delta Palestina (Leghorn, 1889); Guillemot, Emmaiis-Nicopolis (Paris, 1886); Schiffers, Amwas, das Emmaus des hi. Lucas, 160 Stadien von Jerusalem. (Freiburg im Br., 1890); Revue biblique (1893), 26-40; Van Kasteren, Emmaus-Nicopolis et les auteurs arabes, ibid. (1892), 80-99, 645-649; Heidet in Diet, de la Bible, s. v.; Meibter- mann, L'eglise d'Amouas, I' Emmaiis-Nicopolis et Veglise de Qoubeibeh, V Emmaus de saint Luc (Jerusalem. 1902); Vailhe in Echos d'Orient (1902), 407-409; Vince.nt, Les ruines d' Amwas in Revue biblique (1903), 571-S9.
S. Vailhe.
Emmeram, Saint, Bishopof Poitiers and missionary to Bavaria, b. at Poitiers in the first half of the seventh century; martyred at Ascheim (Bavaria) towards the end of the same century. Of a noble family of Aqui- village about eighteen miles from Jerusalem, on the taine, he received a good education and was ordained road to Jaffa. There are still visible ruins of a beauti- priest. According to some authors Emmeram occu- ful basilica built in the fourth or the fifth century, and pied the Seeof Poitiers, but this cannot be verified, for repaired by the Crusaders. Near 'Am'was, at El- his name does not appear among the Bishops of Poi- Atroun, the Trappists founded a priory in 1890. tiers. He probably held the see for a short time, from
la the opinion of many 'Am'was is the Emmaus of the death of Dido (date unknown) to the episcopate
The Supper at Emmaus
Carpaccio, San Salvatore, Venice
nevertheless, destroyed by Varus (Josephus, "Ant.
Jud." XVII, X, 7-9; Idem, "Bel. Jud.", II, iv, 3). It
soon rose again, for Josephus (Bel. Jud., Ill, iii, 5) and
Pliny (Hist, nat., V, xiv) rank it amongst the "top-
archies" of the country. Vespasian took it at the
beginning of his campaign against the Jews, stationed
a legion in the neighbourhood, and named it Nicopolis
(Sozom., Hist, eccl., V, xxi). According to Eusebius
and St. Jerome, this name was given to it only in 223,
by Julius Africanus, its governor and most illustrious
son, and this is the name commonly used by Christian
writers. Here a spring in which Christ is said to
have washed His feet, and which was reputed to
cure all diseases, was closed up by order of Julian the
Apo.state (Sozom., Hi.st. eccl., V, xxi). Four Greek
bishops are known, from the fourth to the sixth cen-
tury (Lequien, Or. christ., Ill, 593). At the begin-
ning of the Arab conquest the plague broke out in the
city, and the inhabitants fled; they must have soon
returned, however, for Emmaus remained a very im-
portant town. It was the last station of the Crusa-
ders on their way to Jerusalem in June, 1099. Eubel
(Hierarch. cath., II, 223) has a list of eleven Latin
titular bishops, but only for the fifteenth century.
To-day 'Am'was (the native name) is a Mussulman