yoke
part of speech
noun (a yoke, yokes); verb (yoke, yokes, yoked, yoking)
meaning for a pupil
1) A yoke is a wooden bar fixed across the necks of two animals, usually oxen, so they can pull a plough or cart together. tree →
2) A yoke is also a bar across a person's shoulders for carrying two buckets. tree →
3) To yoke (verb) means to join animals with a yoke, or to join two things together. tree →
4) (formal, Bible) A yoke is something that controls people or is a heavy burden: «the yoke of slavery». tree →
5) (Ireland, slang) A «yoke» is any thing or gadget whose name you can't remember. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: It is the wooden bar for oxen, and a sign of slavery and heavy rule. A red heifer must never have worn a yoke. The prophets speak of breaking the yoke of a foreign king such as Babylon, and Lamentations speaks of bearing a yoke in youth as a hard lesson. Interpretation: The "yoke" of Egypt is contrasted with freedom at Passover. The red heifer, not yoked, is read as a sign of purity for holy use. Breaking the yoke is read as the promise of freeing Israel from its oppressors. In the primary lessons: In history and farming lessons, oxen were yoked to plough fields. In the Bible and church, Jesus says, «My yoke is easy and my burden is light» (Matthew 11:30), meaning following him is not crushing. In history lessons, nations threw off the yoke of an empire. In Irish speech, «Pass me that yoke» is everyday slang. Phrases: «under the yoke of», «throw off the yoke», «yoked together».
examples
- And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt break loose, that thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck. (Torah GEN.27.40, JPS 1917) tree →
- I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you go upright. (Torah LEV.26.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer, faultless, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. (Torah NUM.19.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. (Writings LAM.3.27, JPS 1917) tree →
- And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. (Prophets NAM.1.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- 'Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. (Prophets JER.28.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- The farmer put the yoke on the two oxen. tree →
- The milkmaid carried two pails on a wooden yoke. tree →
- The people threw off the yoke of the cruel king. tree →
- (Bible) Jesus said, «My yoke is easy and my burden is light.» tree →
- The two horses were yoked together to pull the cart. tree →
- (Ireland, slang) «Where's the yoke for the telly?» Dad asked, meaning the remote. tree →
- The yoke snapped with a twang, and they lumbered off together. tree →
note
Countable: yoke, yokes. Homophone trap: «yoke» (wooden bar) and «yolk» (the yellow middle of an egg) sound the same, «yoke». The Irish slang sense is informal and friendly.
In the corpora
- And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
- It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «yoke» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.