pair of balances, yoke

“Yoke” From Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(join). This well-known means of coupling oxen for agricultural purposes was primitively laid upon the necks of the cattle, and held there by thongs which passed around their necks. A thong served also as an attachment to the cart-tongue or plow-beam. A pair of oxen yoked together were called a yoke, as today (1 Sam. 11:77And he 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 it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. (1 Samuel 11:7); 1 Kings 19:2121And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him. (1 Kings 19:21)). It would seem as if asses and mules went by pairs like oxen (Judg. 19:1010But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him. (Judges 19:10); 2 Kings 5:1717And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. (2 Kings 5:17)), and even horses, camels, and chariots (Isa. 21:77And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: (Isaiah 21:7)). The word, like the Latin jugum, gave rise to a measurement of land (1 Sam. 14:1414And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. (1 Samuel 14:14)), the amount a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. Yoke is used metaphorically for subjection (1 Kings 12:4,9-114Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. (1 Kings 12:4)
9And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? 10And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. 11And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. (1 Kings 12:9‑11); Isa. 9:44For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. (Isaiah 9:4); Jer. 5:55I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. (Jeremiah 5:5)). An unusually heavy bondage was typed by “iron yoke” (Deut. 28:4848Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. (Deuteronomy 28:48); Jer. 28:1313Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. (Jeremiah 28:13)). Removal of the yoke implied deliverance (Gen. 27:4040And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. (Genesis 27:40); Jer. 2:2020For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. (Jeremiah 2:20); Matt. 11:29-3029Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29‑30)). Breaking of the yoke meant repudiation of authority (Nah. 1:1313For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. (Nahum 1:13)).
 
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“Yoke” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

 
Women plowing near Hebron. Dec. 8, 1937
The harness that secures an animal to a cart or plow; and the beam to which two animals are fastened for any purpose of labor; it is also used to denote the number two, as “a yoke of oxen” (1 Sam. 11:77And he 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 it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. (1 Samuel 11:7)). It is employed as a symbol of servitude and slavery (Jer. 28:2-142Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: 4And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 5Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord, 6Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the Lord do so: the Lord perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. 7Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; 8The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. 9The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him. 10Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it. 11And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12Then the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. 14For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also. (Jeremiah 28:2‑14); 1 Tim. 6:11Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. (1 Timothy 6:1)). Also of the grievous bondage of being under the law (Acts 15:1010Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? (Acts 15:10); Gal. 5:11Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Galatians 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 (Matt. 11:29-3029Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29‑30)).
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“Balances” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

 
Jewelry Scales
Moznayim, ζυγός, a pair of balances or scales: such are seen on the Egyptian monuments, with the weights in one scale and the article to be weighed in the other. They were needful also in early days for weighing the money: when Abraham bought a burying place he “weighed to Ephron the silver” (Gen. 23:1616And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. (Genesis 23:16): Compare Jer. 32:1010And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. (Jeremiah 32:10)). Job asked to be weighed in an even balance, (Job 31:66Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. (Job 31:6): Compare Lev. 19:3636Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. (Leviticus 19:36); Ezek. 45:1010Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. (Ezekiel 45:10)), for men contrived to falsify the balance, as well as the weights, which was an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 11:11A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight. (Proverbs 11:1); Prov. 16:1111A just weight and balance are the Lord's: all the weights of the bag are his work. (Proverbs 16:11); Hos. 12:77He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. (Hosea 12:7); Amos 8:55Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? (Amos 8:5)). In Isaiah 46:66They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. (Isaiah 46:6) another Hebrew word is used, ganeh, which signifies a reed, rod or beam, which may refer to the beam of the scales, for it is not known that the steel-yard was then in use. In Revelation 6:55And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. (Revelation 6:5) the rider on the black horse had a pair of balances with which to weigh out the food, showing that great scarcity will be one of God’s judgments in the future.

Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:

Number:
2218 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)
Greek:
ζυγός
Transliteration:
zugos
Phonic:
dzoo-gos’
Meaning:
from the root of ζεύγνυμι (to join, especially by a "yoke"); a coupling, i.e. (figuratively) servitude (a law or obligation); also (literally) the beam of the balance (as connecting the scales)
KJV Usage:
pair of balances, yoke