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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Context of Genesis 2:24

22Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

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 and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.
• Genesis 31:14Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate?
• Psalms 45:10Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house.
• Leviticus 22:12If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions.
• Deuteronomy 4:4but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
• Deuteronomy 10:20Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.
• Joshua 23:8But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.
• Proverbs 12:4A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
• Proverbs 31:10A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
• Acts 11:23When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
• Malachi 2:14You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
• Matthew 19:3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
• Mark 10:6“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’
• Romans 7:2For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.
• 1 Corinthians 6:16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
• 1 Corinthians 7:2But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with 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