Reference: Yoke
American
A symbol of subjection and servitude, 1Ki 12:4; an iron yoke, of severe oppression, De 28:48. The ceremonial law was a yoke, a burden-some restriction, Ac 15:10; Ga 5:1. The withdrawing or breaking of a yoke denoted a temporary or an unlimited emancipation form bondage, Isa 58:6; Jer 2:20, and sometimes the disowning of rightful authority, Jer 5:5. The iron yoke imposed by our sins, none but God can remove, La 1:14; but the yoke of Christ's service is easy and light, Mt 11:29-30.
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therefore, thou shalt serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness and in lack of all things; and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck until he has destroyed thee.
Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
Is not rather the fast that I have chosen, to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the ties of oppression, to release into freedom those who are broken, and that ye break every yoke?
For of old time I have broken thy yoke and burst thy bands; and thou didst say, I will not serve sin. With all this, upon every high hill and under every green tree thou dost wander, playing the harlot.
I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds.
Nun The yoke of my rebellions is bound in his hand; they are wreathed and come up upon my neck; he has made my strength to fall; the Lord has delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now therefore why tempt ye God, putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the yoke of slavery.
Easton
(1.) Fitted on the neck of oxen for the purpose of binding to them the traces by which they might draw the plough, etc. (Nu 19:2; De 21:3). It was a curved piece of wood called 'ol.
(2.) In Jer 27:2; 28:10,12 the word in the Authorized Version rendered "yoke" is motah, which properly means a "staff," or as in the Revised Version, "bar."
These words in the Hebrew are both used figuratively of severe bondage, or affliction, or subjection (Le 26:13; 1Ki 12:4; Isa 47:6; La 1:14; 3:27). In the New Testament the word "yoke" is also used to denote servitude (Mt 11:29-30; Ac 15:10; Ga 5:1).
(3.) In 1Sa 11:7; 1Ki 19:21; Job 1:3 the word thus translated is tzemed, which signifies a pair, two oxen yoked or coupled together, and hence in 1Sa 14:14 it represents as much land as a yoke of oxen could plough in a day, like the Latin jugum. In Isa 5:10 this word in the plural is translated "acres."
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I AM your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk with your faces uplifted.
This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel that they bring thee a red heifer, perfect, in which there is no blemish, and upon which there has never been placed a yoke;
and it shall be that the elders of the city which is next unto the dead man shall take a heifer, which has not served, and which has not drawn in the yoke;
And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armourbearer made was about twenty men within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
His substance was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she asses, and a very great store of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
I was wroth with my people; I have profaned my inheritance and given them into thine hand; thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient thou hast very heavily laid thy yoke.
Thus hath the LORD said unto me: Make thee bonds and yokes and put them upon thy neck;
Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck and broke it.
And after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
Nun The yoke of my rebellions is bound in his hand; they are wreathed and come up upon my neck; he has made my strength to fall; the Lord has delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.
Teth It is good for the man if he bears the yoke from his youth.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now therefore why tempt ye God, putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the yoke of slavery.
Fausets
mot, the wooden bow (ol) bound to the ox's neck: the two are combined, "bands of the yoke" (Le 26:13; Eze 34:27; Jer 2:20, rather "thou hast broken the yoke and burst the bands which I laid on thee," i.e. My laws, setting them at defiance, Jer 5:5; Ps 2:3). Contrast the world's heavy yoke (1Ki 12:4,9,11; Isa 9:11) with Christ's "easy yoke" (Mt 11:29-30). Tsemed, a pair of oxen (1Sa 11:7), or donkeys (Jg 19:10); a couple of horsemen (Isa 21:7); also what land a pair of oxen could plow in a day (Isa 5:10, "ten acres," literally, ten yokes; Latin: jugum, jugerum; 1Sa 14:14).
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I AM your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk with your faces uplifted.
But the man would not remain there that night, but he rose up and departed and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem, with his two asses saddled and with his concubine.
And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armourbearer made was about twenty men within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter?
And now whereas my father ladened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him and join his enemies together,
And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; then he looked with more diligence;
For of old time I have broken thy yoke and burst thy bands; and thou didst say, I will not serve sin. With all this, upon every high hill and under every green tree thou dost wander, playing the harlot.
I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds.
And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her fruit, and they shall be safe in their land and shall know that I am the LORD when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Hastings
Morish
The harness that secures an animal to a cart or plough; and the beam to which two animals are fastened for any purpose of labour; it is also used to denote the number two, as 'a yoke of oxen.' 1Sa 11:7. It is employed as a symbol of servitude and slavery. Jer 28:2-14; 1Ti 6:1. Also of the grievous bondage of being under the law. Ac 15:10; Ga 5:1. The Lord Jesus invites the believer to take His yoke upon him, and to learn of Him; that is, giving up self-will, to be in submission to the will of God, content to be in the lowest place; and such will find rest to their souls. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Mt 11:29-30.
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And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
Thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel spoken, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years I will bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried them to Babylon: read more. and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD, therefore the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD confirm thy words with which thou hast prophesied that the vessels of the LORD's house and all those that are carried away captive are to be returned from Babylon unto this place. Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears and in the ears of all the people, The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesied of peace, when the word of the prophet should come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD has truly sent him. Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck and broke it. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus hath the LORD said: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the Gentiles within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. And after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus hath the LORD said: Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make yokes of iron instead. For thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel said: I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these Gentiles, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him; and I have even given him the beasts of the field.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now therefore why tempt ye God, putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the yoke of slavery.
Smith
Yoke.
1. A well-known implement of husbandry, frequently used metaphorically for subjection, e.g.
1Ki 12:4,9-11; Isa 9:4; Jer 5:5
hence an "iron yoke" represents an unusually galling bondage.
De 28:48; Jer 28:13
2. A pair of oxen, so termed as being yoked together.
The Hebrew term is also applied to asses,
and mules,
and even to a couple of riders.
3. The term is also applied to a certain amount of land,
equivalent to that which a couple of oxen could plough in a day,
(Authorized Version "acre"), corresponding to the Latin jugum.
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therefore, thou shalt serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness and in lack of all things; and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck until he has destroyed thee.
But the man would not remain there that night, but he rose up and departed and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem, with his two asses saddled and with his concubine.
And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armourbearer made was about twenty men within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spoke unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spoke unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. read more. And now whereas my father ladened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Then Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy slave two mules' burden of earth? For from now one thy slave will offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
For thou hast broken his heavy yoke and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds.
Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus hath the LORD said: Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make yokes of iron instead.