Meaning of Anointing Breaking the Yoke

The phrase "anointing breaking the yoke" originates from Isaiah 10:27, which states, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing" (KJV) ^[2]. This verse speaks of deliverance from oppression, with the "yoke" serving as a prominent metaphor for bondage and affliction throughout the biblical text ^{[1, 3]}.

The Hebrew word for "yoke" in this context is often 'ol (עֹל), referring to a curved piece of wood placed on the neck of oxen to bind them to a plow or other implements ^[1]. Another related term, motah (מוֹטָה), translated as "staff" or "bar" in some versions, also denotes a yoke ^[1]. These terms are frequently used metaphorically to describe severe subjection, affliction, or bondage, as seen in passages like Leviticus 26:13, 1 Kings 12:4, Isaiah 47:6, Lamentations 1:14, and 3:27 ^[1]. An "iron yoke," for instance, represents an unusually harsh form of bondage ^[3].

The breaking of the yoke, therefore, signifies emancipation and freedom. In Leviticus 26:13, God declares, "I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright," which is understood as a metaphorical expression of Israel's liberation from Egyptian slavery ^[10]. Keil and Delitzsch explain that God broke the "poles of the yoke" that Egypt had placed on the Israelites, enabling them to walk upright again ^[9]. Similarly, Jeremiah 28:2 speaks of God having "broken the yoke" ^[7]. Rashi notes that "breaking" applies to a wooden yoke, while "tearing open" applies to leather yoke-bands ^[6].

In Isaiah 10:27, the yoke represents the oppressive burden placed upon Judah, particularly by the Assyrian king Sennacherib ^{[4, 8]}. John Gill interprets the "burden" as the tax or tribute imposed by the Assyrian king and the "yoke" as the subjection of Judah's cities ^[8]. While some interpretations connect this specifically to Sennacherib, others see it as a broader prophecy of deliverance, including the future Babylonian captivity and ultimately the redemption brought by Christ ^[8]. Calvin suggests that the "yoke" refers to the extensive oppression by the Assyrian tyrant, which had devoured Judea ^[4].

The phrase "because of the anointing" (מִפְּנֵי שָׁמֶן) in Isaiah 10:27 is subject to various interpretations. Abraham Ibn Ezra suggests that the yoke breaks when the neck becomes "very fat," figuratively indicating that Judah will become mighty ^[5]. This implies a natural consequence of prosperity or strength that causes the oppressive yoke to be shed. Other interpretations link the "anointing" to a divine act or a consecrated individual. The anointing in the Old Testament often symbolized consecration for a special office, such as that of a king or priest, or the bestowal of divine power and favor. Thus, the "anointing breaking the yoke" can be understood as divine intervention or the empowerment of a chosen agent leading to liberation from oppression.

Sources

Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Yoke — (1.) Fitted on the neck of oxen for the purpose of binding to them the traces by which they might draw the plough, etc. (Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3). It was a curved piece of wood called 'ol. (2.) In Jer. 27:2; 28:10, 12 the word in the Authorized Version rendered "yoke" is motah, which properly means a "staff," or as in the Revised Version, "bar." These words in the Hebrew are both used figuratively of severe bondage, or affliction, or subjection (Lev. 26:13; 1 Kings 12:4; Isa. 47:6; Lam. 1:14; 3:27). In the New Testament the word "yoke" is also used to denote ser”
King James Version “[KJV] Isaiah 10:27 — And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”
Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Yoke — + A well-known implement of husbandry, frequently used metaphorically for subjection, e.g. (1 Kings 12:4,9-11; Isaiah 9:4; Jeremiah 5:5) hence an "iron yoke" represents an unusually galling bondage. (28:48; Jeremiah 28:13) + A pair of oxen, so termed as being yoked together. (1 Samuel 11:7; 1 Kings 19:19,21) The Hebrew term is also applied to asses, (Judges 19:10) and mules, (2 Kings 5:17) and even to a couple of riders. (Isaiah 21:7) + The term is also applied to a certain amount of land, (1 Samuel 14:14) equivalent to that which a couple of oxen could plough ”
CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah, Vol. 1, section 16.37: of deliverance. If it be thought best to refer it to Sennacherib, he had not laid on the Jews so grievous a yoke. The people paid only some tribute, as we learn from sacred history. ( 2 Kings 23:33 ; 2 Chronicles 36:3 .) Why then has he employed two names in describing this tyranny? It may be pleaded that he had in his eye the approaching danger; for that tyrant, like a huge beast of prey, had devoured the whole of Judea by his voraciousness, and had oppressed them to such an extent, that it appeared to be almost impossible that his yoke cou”
Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 10:27: And shall be destroyed . Comp. וְחִבֵּל , And he will destroy (Eccl. 5:5). The yoke is broken, when the neck has become very fat; it is a figurative expression for, Judah will become mighty.”
Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Jeremiah 2:20: I broke your yoke To the wooden yoke an expression of breaking applies, and to the yoke-bands which are of leather an expression of tearing open applies.”
Jeremiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Jeremiah 28:2: broken the yoke--I have determined to break: referring to Jeremiah's prophecy (Jer 27:12).”
Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 10:26: And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder,.... The tax or tribute imposed upon Hezekiah by the king of Assyria, Kg2 18:14, and his yoke from off thy neck; the same with the burden; unless it means also the subjection of the cities of Judah, which were taken by the Assyrian; and indeed it may be extended further, and be considered as a prophecy not merely of deliverance from the present distress, but from the future captivity in Babylon; and which was a type of the deliverance and redemption by Christ, when the ”
Leviticus (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Leviticus 26:13: For He was their God, who had brought them out of the land of the Egyptians, that they might no longer be servants to them, and had broken the bands of their yokes and made them go upright. על מטת, lit., the poles of the yoke (cf. Eze 34:27), i.e., the poles which are laid upon the necks of beasts of burden (Jer 27:2) as a yoke, to bend their necks and harness them for work. It was with the burden of such a yoke that Egypt had pressed down the Israelites, so that they could no longer walk upright, till God by breaking the yoke helped them to walk upright ag”
Leviticus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Leviticus 26:13: I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright--a metaphorical expression to denote their emancipation from Egyptian slavery.”

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