A site sometimes grouped with the hot springs discussed in the previous chapter is Emmaus. Located a short distance west of Jerusalem, along the road between Jerusalem and Jaffa, Emmaus was renamed Nikopolis in 223 to mark its new civic status. At Emmaus is the intersection of two kinds of sacred sites in Palestine. First, its Greek name “Emmaus” derives from the Hebrew “Ḥammat” and suggests that the site was named for a local hot spring. To the inherent sacredness of the spring, a second characteristic was added: an association with the life of Jesus. An account given by Sozomen adds a detail to the story about the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus not found in the canonical version in Luke 24:13–34:

As in Chapter 3, water is again the central feature of this story. However, Sozomen omits any reference to a hot spring, and it is not clear whether he knew anything about the water’s properties. The salient detail for Sozomen was the extra-biblical tradition about Jesus washing in a fountain. According to Sozomen, Jesus’ unremarkable use of the fountain to wash dirty feet transformed it into a source of healing, not just for every sort of human ailment, but also for animals.

Emmaus thus became a destination for Christian visitors, drawn both to a site from the life of Jesus and to a place that promised miraculous cures. In this regard, Emmaus was not unique. This chapter focuses on two healing sites that similarly became stops on the pilgrimage route of early Christians: the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem and Shuni/ʿEin Tzur, located northeast of Caesarea. In the former case, abundant literary evidence confirms the continuity of ritual healing as the site changed hands, with an event from the life of Jesus solidifying its significance for Christians.