ἑτερο-ζῠγέω G2086
To be yoked in unequal partnership, particularly with unbelievers; to enter an incompatible alliance
This rare compound verb appears only in Paul's warning against forming mismatched partnerships with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). The agricultural metaphor draws from Deuteronomy's prohibition of yoking different animals together—oxen and donkeys worked at different paces and strengths, making effective plowing impossible. Paul extends this image to spiritual partnerships where fundamental incompatibility prevents fruitful collaboration.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The uniform testimony across languages ('unequally-yoked' in English, 'en-yugo-desigual' in Spanish, 'atteler-inégalement' in French) preserves the agricultural imagery. Paul's rhetorical question in 2 Corinthians 6:14 uses this hapax to challenge believers about entering binding partnerships—whether business, religious, or marital—where core values and ultimate allegiances diverge irreconcilably. 1×
AR["مُشتَرِكينَ-في-نيرٍ-غَريبٍ"]·ben["অসমান-যোরে-যুক্ত"]·DE["ungleich-zusammengespannt"]·EN["unequally-yoked"]·FR["atteler-inégalement"]·heb["נוֹשְׂאֵי-עֹל-נֵכָר"]·HI["असमान-जूए-हुए"]·ID["berpasangan-tidak-seimbang"]·IT["giogo-disuguale"]·jav["nunggil-pasangan-kaliyan-tiyang-mboten-pitados"]·KO["매이지-않는-멍에를"]·PT["em-jugo-desigual"]·RU["в-чужом-ярме"]·ES["en-yugo-desigual"]·SW["mkifungwa-nira-pamoja"]·TR["eşleşmeyecek şekilde boyunduruklanmış"]·urd["بے-جوڑ-جورے-ہوئے"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)G1122 1. scribe / expert in the Law (63×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἑτερο-ζῠγέω, draw unequally, Refs 2nd c.AD+ to be yoked in unequal partnership with unbelievers, NT