Bible Dictionaries
Yoke

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Yoke. It was much lighter and larger than ours, so that the cattle stood farther apart. It was simply a stick laid upon the necks of the cattle, to which it was held by thongs instead of wooden bows, and in a similar manner it was attached to the plough-beam. In modern Syria wooden pins are sometimes used instead of thongs, the lower ends of which are held by a parallel stick under the necks of the oxen. The yoke was an appropriate emblem of subjection and of slavery, while the removal of it indicated deliverance. Genesis 27:40; Jeremiah 2:20; Matthew 11:29-30. Breaking the yoke also represents the rejection of authority. Nan. 1:13.

Bibliography Information
Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Yoke'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​rpd/​y/yoke.html. 1893.