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 enemy which the LORD shall send upon thee: in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and in need of all things. And he shall put a yoke of iron upon thine neck, until he have brought thee to nought.
"Thy father made our yoke grievous, but now make thou the grievous service of thy father and his sore yoke which he put upon us, lighter; and so we will serve thee."
Or is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? To loose wicked bonds, and to unbind bundles of oppression? And to let the bruised go free? And that ye should break all manner yokes?
"I have ever broken thy yoke of old, and bursten thy bonds: yet sayest thou, 'I will no more serve.' But like a harlot thou runnest about upon all high hills,
Therefore will I go unto their heads and rulers, and talk with them: if they know the way of the LORD, and the judgments of our God." But these, in like manner, have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds in sunder.
{Nun} The yoke of my transgression is come at the last; with his hand hath he taken it up, and put it about my neck. My strength is gone: the LORD hath delivered me into those hands, whereout I cannot quit myself.
Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek, and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Now therefore, why tempt ye God, that ye would put a yoke on the disciples necks which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and wrap not yourselves again in 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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For I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of the Egyptians, that ye should not be their bondmen, and I broke the bows of your yokes, and made you go upright.
"This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commandeth, saying, 'Speak unto the children of Israel and let them take thee a red cow without spot wherein is no blemish, and which never bare yoke upon her.
And let the elders of that city which is next unto the slain man, take a heifer that is not laboured with nor hath drawn in the yoke,
And took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, "Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall his oxen be served." Then the fear of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as it had been but one man.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his harness bearer made was upon a twenty men, within the compass as it were about a half acre of land.
His substance was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, and a very great household: so that he was one of the most principal men among all them of the east country.
And ten acres of vines shall give but a quart, and thirty bushels of seed shall give but an ephah.
I was so wroth with my people, that I punished mine inheritance, and gave them into thy power. Nevertheless, thou showedest them no mercy, but even the very aged men of them, didst thou oppress right sore with thy yoke.
And Hananiah the prophet took the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it;
Now after that Hananiah the prophet had taken the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broken it, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Jeremiah saying,
{Nun} The yoke of my transgression is come at the last; with his hand hath he taken it up, and put it about my neck. My strength is gone: the LORD hath delivered me into those hands, whereout I cannot quit myself.
O how good is it, for a man, to take the yoke upon him from his youth up?
Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek, and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Now therefore, why tempt ye God, that ye would put a yoke on the disciples necks which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and wrap not yourselves again in 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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For I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of the Egyptians, that ye should not be their bondmen, and I broke the bows of your yokes, and made you go upright.
Neverthelater, the man would not tarry, but arose and departed and came as far as Jebus, which is Jerusalem, and his two asses laden, and his concubine, and his lad with him.
And took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, "Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall his oxen be served." Then the fear of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as it had been but one man.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his harness bearer made was upon a twenty men, within the compass as it were about a half acre of land.
"Thy father made our yoke grievous, but now make thou the grievous service of thy father and his sore yoke which he put upon us, lighter; and so we will serve thee."
And he said unto them, "What counsel give ye, to answer this people withal which have communed with me saying, 'Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us, lighter?'"
And now, where my father put a grievous yoke upon you, I will make it heavier. For where my father corrected you with scourges, I will chastise you with scorpions."
Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
And ten acres of vines shall give but a quart, and thirty bushels of seed shall give but an ephah.
Nevertheless, the LORD shall prepare Rezin the enemy against them, and so order their adversaries,
And when he had waited diligently, he saw two horsemen: the one riding upon an Ass, the other upon a camel.
"I have ever broken thy yoke of old, and bursten thy bonds: yet sayest thou, 'I will no more serve.' But like a harlot thou runnest about upon all high hills,
Therefore will I go unto their heads and rulers, and talk with them: if they know the way of the LORD, and the judgments of our God." But these, in like manner, have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds in sunder.
that the trees in the wood may bring forth their fruits, and the ground her increase. They shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD: which have broken their yoke, and delivered them out of the hands of those that held them in subjection.
Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek, and lowly of heart: and ye 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 took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, "Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall his oxen be served." Then the fear of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as it had been but one man.
"Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon, and after two years will I bring again into this place all the ornaments of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried away from this place unto Babylon. read more. Yea, I will bring again Jechoniah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah himself, with all the prisoners of Judah that are carried unto Babylon even into this place, sayeth the LORD, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon." Then the prophet Jeremiah gave answer unto the prophet Hananiah, before the priests and before all the people that were present in the house of the LORD. And the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen, the LORD do that, and grant the thing which thou hast prophesied: that he may bring again all the ornaments of the LORD's house, and restore all the prisoners from Babylon into this place. Nevertheless, hearken thou also what I will say, that thou and all the people may hear. The prophets that were before us in times past, which prophesied of war, or trouble, or pestilence - either of peace, upon many nations and great kingdoms - were proved by this, if God had sent them in very deed: when the thing came to pass, which that prophet told before." And Hananiah the prophet took the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it; and with that said Hananiah, that all the people might hear, "Thus hath the LORD spoken: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, from the neck of all nations; yea, and that within this two years." And so the prophet Jeremiah went his way. Now after that Hananiah the prophet had taken the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broken it, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Jeremiah saying, "Go, and tell Hananiah these words, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: Thou hast broken the chain of wood, but instead of wood thou shalt make chains of iron. For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: I will put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all this people, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, yea and so shall they do. And I will give him the beasts in the field.'"
Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek, and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Now therefore, why tempt ye God, that ye would put a yoke on the disciples necks which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and wrap not yourselves again in 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 thou shalt serve thine enemy which the LORD shall send upon thee: in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and in need of all things. And he shall put a yoke of iron upon thine neck, until he have brought thee to nought.
Neverthelater, the man would not tarry, but arose and departed and came as far as Jebus, which is Jerusalem, and his two asses laden, and his concubine, and his lad with him.
And took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, "Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall his oxen be served." Then the fear of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as it had been but one man.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his harness bearer made was upon a twenty men, within the compass as it were about a half acre of land.
"Thy father made our yoke grievous, but now make thou the grievous service of thy father and his sore yoke which he put upon us, lighter; and so we will serve thee."
And he said unto them, "What counsel give ye, to answer this people withal which have communed with me saying, 'Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us, lighter?'" And the young men that were brought up with him, answered him, saying, "This people that have said unto thee, 'Thy father made our yoke heavy, make thou it us lighter' - thus answer them: 'My little finger shall be weightier than my father's loins! read more. And now, where my father put a grievous yoke upon you, I will make it heavier. For where my father corrected you with scourges, I will chastise you with scorpions."
And Naaman said, "If thou wilt not: yet I pray thee, may there not be given to thy servant the burden of two mules of earth? For thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt sacrifice nor offering unto any other God, than to the LORD.
And ten acres of vines shall give but a quart, and thirty bushels of seed shall give but an ephah.
For thou shalt break the yoke of the people's burden: the staff of his shoulder and the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
Therefore will I go unto their heads and rulers, and talk with them: if they know the way of the LORD, and the judgments of our God." But these, in like manner, have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds in sunder.
"Go, and tell Hananiah these words, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: Thou hast broken the chain of wood, but instead of wood thou shalt make chains of iron.