Genesis 2:24

Genesis 2:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
• New International Version (NIV)That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Context of Genesis 2:24

22The Lord God used the man's rib to make a woman. He brought the woman to the man. 23Then the man said, ‘Finally, this is someone who is right for me. She has bones that are taken from my bones. Her body comes from my body. I will call her “woman” because God used me, a man, to make her.’ Because of this, when a man marries, he leaves his father and his mother. Instead, God joins the man and his wife together. The two people become as one body. 25The man and his wife were not wearing any clothes. But they did not feel ashamed.

Genesis 2:24 word by word

עַל־כֵּן֙ יַֽעֲזָב־אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־אָבִ֖יו וְאֶת־אִמּ֑וֹ וְדָבַ֣ק בְּאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהָי֖וּ לְבָשָׂ֥ר אֶחָֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thereforeכֵּןkên · soH3651
• shall a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• leaveעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• his fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• and his motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
• and shall cleaveדָּבַקdâbaq · to cleaveH1692
• unto his wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• and they shall be oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320

Cross-references for Genesis 2:24

• Genesis 24:58So they called Rebekah to come. They asked her, ‘Will you go with this man now?’ Rebekah said, ‘Yes, I will go.’
• Genesis 31:14Rachel and Leah replied, ‘Our father will not give us anything more when he dies.
• Psalms 45:10Royal daughter, listen to me. Listen carefully to what I am saying. Forget your people and your family.
• Leviticus 22:12A priest's daughter might marry a man who is not a priest. If she has done that, she must not eat the holy food.
• Deuteronomy 4:4But each of you who continued to trust the Lord your God is still alive today.
• Deuteronomy 10:20Respect and obey the Lord your God. Serve him faithfully. If you make a promise, only use his name to do that.
• Joshua 23:8But you must always serve the Lord your God, as you have until now.
• Proverbs 12:4A good wife will bring honour to her husband, like a crown. But a wife who brings shame to her husband will take away his strength.
• Proverbs 31:10How difficult it is to find a wife who is truly wise! She is worth much more than valuable jewels.
• Acts 11:23Barnabas arrived in Antioch. He saw how God had been kind to the people there and helped them. Barnabas was happy about this. So he said to the new believers, ‘Continue to trust the Lord Jesus completely.’
• Malachi 2:14You ask, ‘Why is the Lord not happy with our gifts?’ The Lord knows that you men have not done the right thing with your wives. When you married as a young man, you promised to take care of your wife always. But you have sent her away, when the law says that you must stay with her as your wife.
• Matthew 19:3Some Pharisees came to talk to Jesus. They wanted to see how he would answer their question. They asked, ‘Can a man send his wife away so that she is no longer his wife? Is it right for him to do that for any reason he chooses?’
• Mark 10:6But at the start, when God made the world, he made people male and female.
• Romans 7:2So think about this. A woman who has a husband must stay with him as long as he still lives. That is what the law says. But if her husband dies, she becomes free from that law about her marriage.
• 1 Corinthians 6:16Anyone who makes his own body join to a prostitute becomes one body with that prostitute. You should know that. It says in the Bible: ‘The man and the woman become as one body.’
• 1 Corinthians 7:2That may be true, but then people may have sex in wrong ways. So every man should have his own wife and every woman should have her own husband.

Commentaries on Genesis 2:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother - There shall be, by the order of God, a more intimate connection formed between the man and woman, than can subsist even between parents and children. And they shall be one flesh - These words may be understood in a twofold sense. These two shall be one flesh, shall be considered as one body, having no separate or independent rights, privileges, cares, concerns, etc., each being equally interested in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24These might be the words of the first man Genesis 2:24. As he thoroughly understood the relation between himself and the woman, there is no new difficulty in conceiving him to become acquainted at the same time with the relationship of son to father and mother, which was in fact only another form of that in which the newly-formed woman stood to himself. The latter is really more intimateand permanent than the former, and naturally therefore takes its…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 Power over the creatures was given to man, and as a proof of this he named them all. It also shows his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God are all our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take care that he shall feel no pain. God, as her Father, brought the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24Marriage between a man and a woman is not only a human idea. It comes from the natural order. a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife: Marriage involves shifting loyalty from parents to a spouse. they will become one flesh: Marriage and its commitments make it the most basic covenant among people. Marriage is a powerful image of Israel’s covenant with God (Hosea 2:14–23) and of Christ’s relationship to the Church (Ephesians…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. one flesh--The human pair differed from all other pairs, that by peculiar formation of Eve, they were one. And this passage is appealed to by our Lord as the divine institution of marriage (Mt 19:4, 5; Ep 5:28). Thus Adam appears as a creature formed after the image of God--showing his knowledge by giving names to the animals, his righteousness by his approval of the marriage relation, and his holiness by his principles and feelings, and finding…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 2:24

• Adam
• Eve
• Family
• God
• Husband
• Marriage
• Quotations and Allusions
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Adam
• Alone
• Bdellium
• Bless
• Breathe
• Cleave
• Close
• Deep
• Dress
• Fall of man

Commentaries on Genesis 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings