“Come to me, anyone who is exhausted and weighed down! I’ll rest you. Take my yokek on yourself and learn from me, because I’m meek and humble in my heart. You’ll find rest for your souls.j My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

— The Story of Jesus 10.4

[adapted from Matthew 11:20-30

Luke 10:13-15]

Another said, ‘I bought five pairs of oxen and I’m going to test them, so please excuse me.’

— The Story of Jesus 23.3

[adapted from Luke 14:1-24]

Yoke could refer to a number of things in the Bible. Primarily, a yoke is (1) a wooden beam between two oxen (or another pair of pack animals) that enabled them to pull a load together. A yoke could also metaphorically refer to (2) slavery, as Moses recorded, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt’s land so you wouldn’t be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke, making you walk upright” (Leviticus 26:13). Finally, it was used in Judea to represent (3) a teacher’s instruction, so that taking on your teacher’s yoke was analogous to adopting his teaching as your own and becoming his disciple.

Zeugos, the Greek word for “pair,” is essentially the same as the word for “yoke” (zygos), since two animals pulled together in one yoke.

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