Encyclopedia entry
Yoke
Disambiguation
The source enumerates 3 distinct subjects under Yoke. Jump to one below, or read in order.
Yoke (1)
#Fitted on the neck of oxen for the purpose of binding to them the traces by which they might draw the plough, etc. (Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3). It was a curved piece of wood called ’ol.
Yoke (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 (Lev. 26:13; 1 Kings 12:4; Isa. 47:6; Lam. 1:14; 3:27). In the New Testament the word “yoke” is also used to denote servitude (Matt. 11:29, 30; Acts 15:10; Gal. 5:1).
Yoke (3)
#In 1 Sam. 11:7, 1 Kings 19:21, Job 1:3 the word thus translated is tzemed, which signifies a pair, two oxen yoked or coupled together, and hence in 1 Sam. 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.”
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
A well-known implement of husbandry, frequently used metaphorically for subjection, e.g. (1 Kings 12:4,9-11; Isaiah 9:4; Jeremiah 5:5) hence an “iron yoke” represents an unusually galling bondage. (28:48; Jeremiah 28:13) A pair of oxen, so termed as being yoked together. (1 Samuel 11:7; 1 Kings 19:19,21) The Hebrew term is also applied to asses, (Judges 19:10) and mules, (2 Kings 5:17) and even to a couple of riders. (Isaiah 21:7) The term is also applied to a certain amount of land, (1 Samuel 14:14) equivalent to that which a couple of oxen could plough in a day, (Isaiah 5:10) (Authorized Version “acre”), corresponding to the Latin jugum .
In the Bible
59
Verses where Yoke is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Kings 12:4
“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
- 1 Kings 12:9
He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
- 1 Kings 12:10
The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!
- 1 Kings 12:11
Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
- 1 Kings 12:14
and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”
- 1 Kings 19:19
So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.
+53 more verses naming Yoke.
Scripture on Yoke
42
See all 42 +−
- 1 Samuel 14Matthew 11Exodus 6Leviticus 26Numbers 19Deuteronomy 211 Samuel 11Job 1Isaiah 5Isaiah 9Isaiah 47Isaiah 58Jeremiah 5Lamentations 1Acts 15Galatians 5Genesis 27Deuteronomy 28Judges 191 Samuel 62 Kings 5Job 42Isaiah 10Isaiah 14Isaiah 21Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 30Jeremiah 31Jeremiah 51Lamentations 3Ezekiel 30Ezekiel 34Hosea 10Hosea 11Nahum 1Luke 141 Timothy 6
Voices on Yoke
12
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.