The place where Jesus appeared to two disciples after the Resurrection, one of whom was named Cleopas, is described in the Gospel by its name (Emmaus), its type (village) and its distance from Jerusalem (60 stades, which according to the best texts is seven miles or eleven kilometers).
These indications notwithstanding, in different periods various places have claimed to be the real Emmaus of the Gospel. Among these, El-Qubeibeh has been confirmed by the little stream of tradition for the past 700 years, up to the present day.
The ancient Church, beginning in the third century (Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, etc.) instead identified Cleopas’ village with the city of Emmaus (Nicopolis of the year 70 AD) that figures in the story of the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 3:40-57; 4:3; 9:50). It should be noted that the name of the site corresponds, but not the type and the distance because several biblical texts put it at 160 stades (30 kilometers).
In the Crusader period (12th century) a site at the proper distance from Jerusalem was sought and so the Fontenoid castle (ancient Kiryat Ya’arim, today’s Abu Ghosh) was suggested, but the new location did not take hold. On the other hand, El Qubeibeh has been the only site since the 14th century and the Franciscans adopted it. The village’s topographical situation, located on one of the roads that mount to Jerusalem, certainly influenced the choice of the site, as well as the possible persistence of the local tradition.