Psalms of Solomon 7:9

Pseudepigrapha

7 Because you are our protector, we will call to you and you will hear us. 8 Because you yourself will have compassion on the family of Israel forever, and will not reject them. 9 But we are forever under your yoke and the whip of your discipline. 10 For your help will direct us at the right time, to show mercy to the house of Jacob for the day when you promised it to them.

Matthew 11:30

New Testament

27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.

 Notes and References

"... Scholarly attention has focused on the paradoxical use of the terms "yoke" (ζυγός) and "burden" (φορτίον), which are unexpectedly described as "easy" (χρηστὸς) and "light" (ἐλαφρόν) to carry. This raises the question: how can a yoke be "easy" and a burden "light"? The issue may partly stem from our Western presuppositions and interpretations of terms that may not have sounded entirely negative to ancient Jewish readers. Indeed, while words like "yoke" and "burden" often have a negative connotation even in ancient Jewish literature, the term "yoke" (Hebrew: לוע; Aramaic: רינ; Greek: ζυγός) is seen in a positive light in various Jewish texts. In the Book of Jeremiah (2:20, 5:5), Israel is criticized for abandoning God's Law and "breaking the yoke." The author presumably suggests that staying under God's yoke would lead to a better outcome for Israel. The Book of Lamentations, attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, positively asserts that "it is good for one to bear the yoke in youth" (3:27). In Psalms of Solomon 7:9, the people of Israel willingly choose to remain under God's yoke. Lastly, Sirach 51:26, in many ways similar to Matthew 11:29, advises its audience to place their neck under the yoke of wisdom, echoing Sirach 6:30 and Solomon 3:8; 9:6 ..."

Oliver, Isaac Wilk Torah Praxis after 70 C.E.: Reading Matthew and Luke-Acts as Jewish Texts (p. 99) The University of Michigan, 2012

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