Cle'opas (Κλεόπας, contr. for Κλεόπατρος, of a renowned father), one of the two disciples who were going to Emmaus on the day of the resurrection, when Jesus himself drew near and talked with them (Lu 24:18), A.D. 29.. Eusebius and Jerome (Onomast. s.v. Ε᾿μμαούς, Emaus) make him (Κλεώπας, Cleophas) a native of Emmaus. It is a question whether this Cleopas is to be considered as identical with the CLEOPHAS SEE CLEOPHAS (q.v.), or rather Clopas of Joh 19:25, or the ALPHESUS SEE ALPHESUS (q.v.) of Mt 10:3, etc. Their identity was assumed by the later fathers and Church historians (Thiess, Comment. 2, 230 sq.). But Eusebius (H. E. 3. 11) writes the name of Alphseus, Joseph's brother, Clopas, not Cleopas; and Chrysostom and Theodoret, on the Epistle to the Galatians, call James the Just the son of Clopas. Besides this, Clopas, or Alphaeus, is an Aramaic name, whereas Cleopas is apparently Greek. Again, as we find the wife and children of Clopas constantly with the family of Joseph at the time of our Lord's ministry, it is probable that he himself was dead before that time. On the whole, then, it seems safer to doubt the identity of Cleopas with Clopas, notwithstanding the similarity of names. (See Rus, Harmon. evang. III, 2:1272 sq.; Wieseler, Chronol. Synopse, p. 431; Clemens, in the Zeitschr. f. wiss. Theol. 3. 356 sq.)
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More