What does ζυγός (zygós) mean in the Bible?
G2218 names a yoke in five New Testament verses and a pair of scales in Revelation 6:5. Jesus tells the weary to take His yoke and learn from Him, grounding promised rest in His gentle and humble character.
Greek · G2218
ζυγός
Yoke/scales
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ζυγός G2218
Pronunciation zygós
What does ζυγός (zygós) mean in the Bible?
G2218 names a yoke in five New Testament verses and a pair of scales in Revelation 6:5. Jesus tells the weary to take His yoke and learn from Him, grounding promised rest in His gentle and humble character.
Reader summary
Full entry for ζυγός (G2218) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2218?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include yoke (2), [the] yoke (1), a pair of scales (1), a yoke (1), by a yoke (1).
Where does ζυγός (zygós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 11:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (2), 1 Timothy (1), Acts (1), Galatians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G2218 names a yoke in five New Testament verses and a pair of scales in Revelation 6:5. Jesus tells the weary to take His yoke and learn from Him, grounding promised rest in His gentle and humble character. Acts 15 uses a yoke for the requirement being placed on Gentile disciples in the circumcision dispute. Galatians 5 warns believers not to submit again to a yoke of slavery as Paul argues against seeking justification through circumcision and law.
First Timothy 6 uses the image for people living under slavery, while Revelation depicts the black horse's rider carrying scales before the announcement of costly food. The shared noun does not make all six passages one metaphor. Teachers must distinguish discipleship, imposed religious obligation, enslavement, and an instrument of measurement.
How the Bible Uses It
Five uses employ the yoke image for discipleship, imposed obligation, or slavery. Revelation 6:5 uses the same noun for scales. Each passage supplies a distinct relation of authority, burden, or measurement.
- Mat.11.29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The yoke belongs to Jesus and is joined to learning from His character.
- Mat.11.30
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Jesus characterizes His yoke and burden without promising a life free from all cost.
- Act.15.10
Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
The council context identifies the imposed requirement under dispute and contrasts it with salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus.
- Gal.5.1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
The surrounding verses govern the yoke through Paul's warning about circumcision and justification by law.
- 1Ti.6.1
All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God’s name and our teaching will not be discredited.
The noun describes an enslaved condition while the verse addresses conduct and public witness within it.
- Rev.6.5
And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales.
The scales prepare for the measured food and prices announced in the next verse.
Passage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It yoke 2× Matthew 11:29, Matthew 11:30
[the] yoke 1× 1 Timothy 6:1
a pair of scales 1× Revelation 6:5
a yoke 1× Acts 15:10
by a yoke 1× Galatians 5:1
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 11:29 ζυγόν to yoke Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Matthew 11:30 ζυγός to yoke Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 15:10 ζυγὸν to a yoke Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Galatians 5:1 ζυγῷ to by a yoke Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 1 Timothy 6:1 ζυγὸν to [the] yoke Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Revelation 6:5 ζυγὸν to a pair of scales Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 11:29
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 5
Matthew 2 Acts 1 Galatians 1 1 Timothy 1 Revelation 1
Source forms
ζυγὸν 3x zygon Acts 15:10, 1 Timothy 6:1, Revelation 6:5
ζυγόν 1x zygon Matthew 11:29
ζυγός 1x zygos Matthew 11:30
ζυγῷ 1x zygō Galatians 5:1
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 4x Matthew 11:29, Acts 15:10, 1 Timothy 6:1, Revelation 6:5
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 1x Galatians 5:1
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Matthew 11:30
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let Jesus' character and invitation define His yoke in Matthew 11.
- Read the yokes in Acts and Galatians within their disputes over Gentile requirements, circumcision, grace, and justification.
- Keep Revelation's pair of scales within the third-seal scarcity scene.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim Jesus promises discipleship without obedience, suffering, or cost.
- Do not claim Acts 15 rejects every use of the Mosaic law.
- Do not claim Christian freedom means freedom from all moral obligation.
- Do not claim 1 Timothy 6 approves slavery.
- Do not merge Revelation's scales with the yoke metaphor used elsewhere.
Evidence Summary
JusticeRedemption
Greek word. A yoke symbolizing submission to authority; in NT theology, Christ's yoke represents gracious, liberating discipline.
Strong's G2218
Lexical occurrences 6 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 3 forms 6 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Timothy 6:1-2 Source Gloss
yoke/scales
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
A yoke symbolizing submission to authority; in NT theology, Christ's yoke represents gracious, liberating discipline.
(ζεύγνυμι), [in LXX for עֹל, מֹאזֵן, etc. ;]
1a yoke; metaphorically, of bondage or submission to authority: Mat.11:29-30, Act.15:10, Gal.5:1, 1Ti.6:1.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 11:29 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ζυγόν zugon
a yoke, heavy burden, pair of scales
Read verse Matthew 11:30 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ζυγός zugov
a yoke, heavy burden, pair of scales
Read verse Acts 15:10 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ζυγὸν zugon
a yoke, heavy burden, pair of scales
Read verse Galatians 5:1 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
ζυγῷ zugw
a yoke, heavy burden, pair of scales
Read verse 1 Timothy 6:1 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ζυγὸν zugon
a yoke, heavy burden, pair of scales
Read verse Revelation 6:5 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ζυγὸν zugon
a yoke, heavy burden, pair of scales
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 3 Aligned forms 6 Case pattern Accusative (4) Number pattern Singular (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 11:30 1×
Dative · Singular · Masculine Gal 5:1 1×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Matt 11:29 · Acts 15:10 · 1 Tim 6:1 · Rev 6:5 4×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
A binding obligation or burden of authority.
A burden-bearing frame placed on animals.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Why This Word Matters
Illustrates the weight of law-based obligation for salvation. 1 Timothy 6:1-2
Paul acknowledges the weight of subjection while calling for faithful endurance. Acts 15:6-11
Canonical Themes
Justice Redemption
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2218 asks readers to identify the yoke or instrument actually present in the passage. Matthew does not promise autonomy; Jesus calls the weary to take His yoke and learn from His gentle and humble heart. Acts 15 and Galatians 5 do not condemn every command or the whole Old Testament. They confront requirements imposed on believers in disputes involving circumcision, law, grace, and justification.
First Timothy 6 describes enslaved people as under a yoke and gives pastoral instruction within that condition, but description is not moral endorsement of the institution. Revelation 6 uses the noun differently for scales held by the black horse's rider, with measured food and severe prices following. A faithful sermon should resist slogans about everyone having a yoke, avoid invented links between the scales and slavery images, and let each text name the authority, burden, freedom, or scarcity at issue.
Anchor passage
Mat.11.29
Doctrinal connections
- Mat.11.29-30 - Jesus joins His yoke to learning, gentleness, humility, and rest.
- Act.15.10-11 - an imposed yoke in the Gentile dispute is answered by salvation through grace.
- Gal.5.1-4 - Christ-given freedom is guarded against circumcision sought for justification by law.
- 1Ti.6.1 - enslaved believers receive instruction about conduct and public witness within an oppressive condition.
- Rev.6.5-6 - the black horse's scales precede measured food and severe prices.
Four forms are accusative singular, one is dative singular, and one is nominative singular. Five contexts use the yoke sense. Revelation 6:5 uses the scales sense, which must remain lexically related but interpretively distinct.
From Old to New Testament
Yokes can portray labor or subjection in Israel's Scriptures, and scales can portray measurement. Specific connections should be made from an explicit passage parallel rather than assumed from the noun alone.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain