12:4 Your father made our yoke heavy. The expression “yoke” is characteristically used for the oppression of the Israelites by foreign rulers (Lev. 26:13; Deut. 28:48; Is. 9:4; 10:27; 14:25; Jer. 27:8, 11; Ezek. 34:27). Its use here is an indictment of Solomon for imposing harsh labor on his own people (5:13; 9:22; 11:28 and notes).