Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
YOKE. This was much lighter than ours, and probably much larger, so that the cattle stood farther apart and the plough could more easily be made to avoid obstructions. It was simply a stick Yoke in Use in Palestine. a, b, timber of the yoke; c, d, the bows; e, f, pegs between which, at g, the end of the shaft comes, the shaft itself having been run through the rope between f and the cross-piece of wood h, i. 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, imprisonment, and severe rule, while the removal of it indicated the corresponding deliverance. Gen 27:40; Jer 2:20; Matt 11:29-30. Breaking the yoke also represents the rejection of authority. Nah 1:13.