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Emmaus (Nicopolis) City
About Emmaus (Nicopolis)
Emmaus, on the edge of the plain west of Jerusalem, is where the royal army of Nicanor and Gorgias camped and where Judas Maccabeus won a decisive victory over it. The Syrian general Bacchides later fortified the town. Its site is traditionally placed at Imwas, near Latrun, and it was renamed Nicopolis in the 3rd century AD. It is usually distinguished from the Emmaus of Luke 24, though some traditions identify the two.
History of Emmaus (Nicopolis)
Maccabean revoltc. 165 BC
Lysias sends Nicanor and Gorgias with a great army; they camp by Emmaus in the plain, and merchants come to buy Israelites as slaves.
1MA 3:38-41Maccabean revoltc. 165 BC
Judas gathers his men, fasts and prays, then camps on the south side of Emmaus.
1MA 3:44-57Maccabean revoltc. 165 BC
While Gorgias leaves by night to surprise him, Judas strikes the royal camp at Emmaus and routs the army; Gorgias's troops flee at the sight of the burning camp.
1MA 4:1-25
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Biblical Significance of Emmaus (Nicopolis)
Emmaus, at the edge of the plain where the road from the coast climbs toward Jerusalem, is the scene of one of Judas Maccabeus's great victories. A royal army sent by Lysias camped there, so sure of success that slave merchants came to buy the captives in advance; Judas, after fasting and prayer, struck the camp while Gorgias was out looking for him by night. Bacchides later fortified the town. Its site is traditionally placed at Imwas, near Latrun; in the 3rd century AD the town was renamed Nicopolis, a historical detail outside the biblical text. It is usually distinguished from the Emmaus of Luke 24, though some traditions identify the two.
Key Verses about Emmaus (Nicopolis)
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