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 shall you serve your enemies which the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.
Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve you.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
For from of old I have broken your yoke, and burst your bands; and you said, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree you wander, playing the harlot.
I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the law of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are woven together, 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 lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now therefore why test God, to put 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 be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
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 the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you walk upright.
This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came a yoke:
And it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer, which has never been worked, and which has not pulled in the yoke;
And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever comes not 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 armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.
I was angry with my people, I have profaned my inheritance, and given them into your hand: you did show them no mercy; upon the aged have you very heavily laid your yoke.
Thus says the LORD to me; Make yourself bonds and yokes, and put them upon your neck,
Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broke it.
Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are woven together, 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.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now therefore why test God, to put 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 be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
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 the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you walk upright.
But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over opposite Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two donkeys saddled, his concubine also was with him.
And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever comes not 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 armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve you.
And he said unto them, What counsel give you that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which your father did put upon us lighter?
And now whereas my father did lay upon 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.
Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a 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 donkeys, and a chariot of camels; and he listened diligently with great care:
For from of old I have broken your yoke, and burst your bands; and you said, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree you wander, playing the harlot.
I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the law of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, 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 who enslaved them.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto 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 cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever comes not 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 speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years will I 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, says 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, Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. Nevertheless hear you now this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people; The prophets that have been before me and before you of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall 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 says the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus says the LORD; You have broken the yokes of wood; but you shall make for them yokes of iron. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now therefore why test God, to put 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 be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
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 shall you serve your enemies which the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.
But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over opposite Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two donkeys saddled, his concubine also was with him.
And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever comes not 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 armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve you.
And he said unto them, What counsel give you that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which your father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spoke unto him, saying, Thus shall you speak unto this people that spoke unto you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter unto us; thus shall you say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. read more. And now whereas my father did lay upon 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.
And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray you, be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth? for your servant will never offer either burnt offering or sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.
For you have broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the law of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus says the LORD; You have broken the yokes of wood; but you shall make for them yokes of iron.