We'll begin with the ending: We may never know with certainty which of the four sites associated with "Emmaus" is the true site. Which one is the actual location where Jesus appeared to His disciples following His resurrection? The story in Luke 24 recounts how two of Jesus' disciples met Him while traveling. They were heading west from Jerusalem, to Emmaus. They spoke with the "stranger" for a while; only later, when they ate together, was Jesus' true identity revealed. Later, the two disciples headed back to Jerusalem.

The name "Emmaus" is a mispronunciation of the Hebrew word "Hammat," meaning hot springs, so the site must be near a natural spring. The distance is also crucial in identifying Emmaus. The disciples traveled in a single day from Jerusalem, to Emmaus, and back. Therefore, the biblical site of Emmaus needs to be within round-trip distance from Jerusalem. The distance in the Gospels is measured as "three-score furlongs" (Luke 24: 13), which is most commonly translated as approximately 60 "stadia," (an ancient Greek unit of length). However, there are discrepancies within the text; some translations state that the distance was 160 stadia. Depending on the translation, Emmaus can be anywhere from seven to 18 miles away.

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