The Meaning of Genesis 2:24 Explained

Genesis 2:24

KJV: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

YLT: therefore doth a man leave his father and his mother, and hath cleaved unto his wife, and they have become one flesh.

Darby: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

ASV: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore  shall a man  leave  his father  and his mother,  and shall cleave  unto his wife:  and they shall be one  flesh. 

What does Genesis 2:24 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse clarifies God"s purpose in marriage. It involves leaving parents and cleaving to one"s spouse. [1]
". . . Israelite marriage was usually patrilocal, that Isaiah , the man continued to live in or near his parents" home. It was the wife who left home to join her husband." [2]
Leaving and cleaving probably means both psychological and physical separation and union under normal conditions. A newly married couple is wise to establish relative independence from both sets of parents emotionally, physically, financially, and in other ways. The couple also needs to establish commitment to one another. Cleaving resembles weaving two threads into one new piece of cloth. The word suggests the ideas of passion and permanence. In marriage a man"s priorities change. Before they were primarily to his parents, but now they are primarily to his wife. Moses was probably correcting cultures that gave parental bonds priority over marital bonds. [3] Marriage also involves physical consummation that unites two individuals as "one flesh" (i.e, in union or unity, [4] "a new family" [5] ). This is a strong argument for monogamy. "One flesh" is not the same as marriage ( 1 Corinthians 6:16). For a marriage to exist there must also be a commitment to "leave" parents and "cleave" to one"s spouse from then on (cf. Matthew 19:5; et al.). The bond of marriage (spouse) also takes priority over the bond of procreation (children).

Context Summary

Genesis 2:18-25 - Man And Woman, Temptation
Human love is God's best gift to man. Without it even Eden would not be Paradise. That Adam was able to name the animals, affixing a title suggested by some peculiarity or characteristic, indicated his royal supremacy, and, in so far as we live in God, that supremacy is restored. See Daniel 6:22; Mark 1:13. But what is power without love, or a throne without a consort? Eve was, therefore, given to crown his bliss; taken from his side, as afterward the Church from the opened side of Christ. See John 19:34, and Ephesians 5:25. Still God brings Eve to Adam; and such a marriage is truly blessed.
The order of temptation is always the same. The Tempter without, and within the strong desire for sensual gratification, with the secret hope that somehow the consequences may be avoided. The eye inflames passion; passion masters the resistance of the will; the body obeys its impulse; the act of gratification is followed immediately by remorse and guilt. Then we need the second Adam! [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 2

1  The first Sabbath
4  Further details concerning the manner of creation
8  The planting of the garden of Eden, and its situation;
15  man is placed in it; and the tree of knowledge forbidden
18  The animals are named by Adam
21  The making of woman, and the institution of marriage

What do the individual words in Genesis 2:24 mean?

Therefore - shall leave a man - his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become flesh one
עַל־ כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזָב־ אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־ אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־ אִמּ֑וֹ וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד

כֵּן֙  - 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
יַֽעֲזָב־  shall  leave 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָזַב 
Sense: to leave, loose, forsake.
אִ֔ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אָבִ֖יו  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
אִמּ֑וֹ  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.
וְדָבַ֣ק  and  be  joined 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַק  
Sense: to cling, stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with, follow closely, join to, overtake, catch.
בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ  to  his  wife 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
וְהָי֖וּ  and  they  shall  become 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לְבָשָׂ֥ר  flesh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּשָׂר  
Sense: flesh.
אֶחָֽד  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).