and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?’
Parallel Translations
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and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?’
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and sayde: for this thinge shall a man leve father and mother and cleve vnto his wyfe and they twayne shalbe one flesshe.
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And sayd, For this cause, shall a man leaue father and mother, and cleaue vnto his wife, and they which were two shalbe one flesh.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Matthew 19:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 2:21-24 Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
- 1 Corinthians 7:4 The wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise also the husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but the wife.
- 1 Corinthians 7:2 But, because of sexual immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
- Ephesians 5:31 “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh.”
- Mark 10:5-9 But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:16 Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”
- 1 Samuel 18:1 When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
- Psalms 63:8 My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.
- Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
- Deuteronomy 4:4 But you who were faithful to Yahweh your God are all alive today.
- 2 Samuel 1:26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
- 1 Kings 11:2 of the nations concerning which Yahweh said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon joined to these in love.
- Psalms 45:10 Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father’s house.
- Genesis 34:3 His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
- Deuteronomy 10:20 You shall fear Yahweh your God. You shall serve him. You shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.
- Deuteronomy 11:22 For if you shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you—to do them, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cling to him—
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The Greek word imported to be glued unto, whereby…
The Greek word imported to be glued unto, whereby is signified that straight knot, which is between man and wife, as though they were glued together.
They which were two, become as it were one: and this word flesh is by a figure taken for the whole man, or the body after the manner of the Hebrews.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 5 And said, For this cause shall a man…
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Ver. 5. And said, For this cause, &c.] Dixit, duxit, benedixit He ordered, he commaned, he blessed these three things are said by Moses to have been done by God in the institution, and for the honour of marriage; to the which still (saith Bifield on 1Pe 3:2) God beareth so great respect, as that he is pleased to bear with, cover, and not impute the many frailties, follies, vanities, weaknesses, and wickednesses that are found between man and wife.
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For this cause shall a man leave father] viz., In regard of cohabitation, not of sustentation; Relinquet cubile patris et matris, as the Chaldee rightly interprets it, Gen 2:24. And this was the first prophecy that was ever uttered in the world (saith Tertullian and Beda), venerable therefore for its antiquity; like as is also that first hexameter, made by Phemonoe, in the year of the world 2580 (1424 BC).
Συμφερετε πτερατ οιωνοι κηρον τε μελισσαι.
And shall cleave to his wife] Gr. Be glued to her, προσκολληθησεται. A table will often cleave in the whole wood, before it will part asunder where it is glued. A husband ought to be as firm to his wife as to himself. {See Trapp on "Gen 2:24"}
And they twain shall be one flesh] This is point blank against polygamy, which yet Anabaptists would bring in again, and Turks allow of. They learned it of Lamech, qui primus unam costam in duas divisit, who was the first polygamist, saith Jerome, but had soon enough of it. So had Jacob, Elkanah, and other holy men of old, who lived and died in this sin of polygamy, and merely through mistake, as it is thought, of that text, Lev 18:16; "Thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to vex her," i.e. Thou shalt not superinduce one wife to another. Now the Fathers took the word (sister) for one so by blood, which was spoken of a sister by nation, as those clauses (to vex her) and (during her life) do evince.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And said,.... Gen 2:24 where they seem to be…
And said,.... Gen 2:24 where they seem to be the words of Adam, though here they are ascribed to God, who made Adam and Eve; and as if they were spoken by him, when he brought them together; and which is easily reconciled by observing, that these words were spoken by Adam, under the direction of a divine revelation; showing, that there would be fathers, and mothers, and children; and that the latter, when grown up, would enter into a marriage state, and leave their parents, and cleave to their proper yoke fellows, which relations then were not in being: this therefore being the effect of a pure revelation from God, may be truly affirmed to be said by him. Some think they are the words of Moses the historian; and if they were, as they were delivered by divine inspiration, they may be rightly called the word of God. A note by Jarchi on this text exactly agrees herewith, which is "the holy Spirit says thus: for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife"; and not wives: and the phrase denotes that close union between a man and his wife, which is not to be dissolved for every cause, it being stricter than that which is between parents and children; for the wife must be cleaved unto, and father and mother forsaken: not that upon this new relation between man and wife, the former relation between parents and children ceases; nor does this phrase denote an entire separation from them, so as to have the affection alienated from them, or to be disengaged from all duty and obedience to them, and care and regard for them, for the future; but a relinquishing the "house of his father and the bed of his mother", as all the three Targums on the place explain it: that is, he shall quit the house of his father, and not bed and board there, and live with him as before; but having taken a wife to himself, shall live and cohabit with her:
and they twain shall be one flesh; the word "twain" is: not in the Hebrew text in Genesis, but in the Septuagint version compiled by Jews, in the Samaritan Pentateuch, and version, and in the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, who renders, it as here, "and they two shall be one flesh". This is the true sense, for neither more nor less can possibly be meant; and denotes that near conjunction, and strict union, between a man and his wife, the wife being a part of himself, and both as one flesh, and one body, and therefore not to be parted on every slight occasion; and has a particular respect to the act of carnal copulation, which only ought to be between one man and one woman, lawfully married to each other; See Gill on Co1 6:16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And said - By the mouth of Adam, who…
And said - By the mouth of Adam, who uttered the words. Gen. ii, 24.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. For this cause] Being created for this…
Verse 5. For this cause] Being created for this very purpose; that they might glorify their Maker in a matrimonial connection. A man shall leave (καταλειψαι, wholly give up) both father and mother - the matrimonial union being more intimate and binding than even paternal or filial affection;-and shall be closely united, προσκολληθησεται, shall be firmly cemented to his wife. A beautiful metaphor, which most forcibly intimates that nothing but death can separate them: as a well-glued board will break sooner in the whole wood, than in the glued joint. So also the Hebrew word דבק debak implies.
And they twain shall be one flesh?] Not only meaning, that they should be considered as one body, but also as two souls in one body, with a complete union of interests, and an indissoluble partnership of life and fortune, comfort and support, desires and inclinations, joys and sorrows. Farther, it appears to me, that the words in Ge 2:24, לבסר אחד lebasar achad, for one flesh, which our Lord literally translates, mean also, that children, compounded as it were of both, should be the product of the matrimonial connection. Thus, they two (man and woman) shall be for the producing of one flesh, the very same kind of human creature with themselves. See the note on Ge 2:24.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain These words were pronounced by Adam. Genesis xi. 24.…
These words were pronounced by Adam. Genesis xi. 24. [sic; ii. 24] --- And they shall be in one flesh.[2] I translate thus with submission to better judges; yet the sense may be, by a kind of Hebraism, they shall be esteemed as one person. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Erunt duo in carne una, Greek: duo eis sarka mian, in carnem unam, as Genesis ii. 7. factus est homo in animam viventem. See Maldonat.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And said, For this cause--to follow out this divine…
And said, For this cause--to follow out this divine appointment.
shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?--Jesus here sends them back to the original constitution of man as one pair, a male and a female; to their marriage, as such, by divine appointment; and to the purpose of God, expressed by the sacred historian, that in all time one man and one woman should by marriage become one flesh--so to continue as long as both are in the flesh. This being God's constitution, let not man break it up by causeless divorces.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. Leave father and mother — The tie of…
5. Leave father and mother — The tie of man and wife is stronger than that of parent and child. Hence, as the latter maintains its tie upon the heart during life, so the former should be indissoluble.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. For this cause] The lesson of Nature is…
5. For this cause] The lesson of Nature is the lesson of God, “Nunquam aliud Natura aliud Sapientia dicit.” Juv. Sat. xiv. 321.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) And said, For this cause.—In Gen_2:24 the words…
(5) And said, For this cause.—In Gen_2:24 the words appear as spoken by Adam; but words so uttered, prompted by the Holy Spirit, and stamped with the divine sanction, might well be looked on as an oracle from God, the expression of a law of His appointment.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And said. The words that follow are assigned to…
And said. The words that follow are assigned to Adam in Gen_2:23, Gen_2:24, but he spake by inspiration of God, as he knew nothing of "father and mother" by personal experience, and therefore they can be rightly attributed to the Creator. It was, in fact, a prophetic utterance of which Adam was the mouthpiece; as St. Augustine says, "Deus utique per hominem dixit quod homo prophetando praedixit." For this cause. Because of this Divine appointment, and especially of the peculiar creation of Eve. She was not formed separately of the dust of the earth, but directly from the substance of Adam; so she was one with her husband, nearer than all other human relations, superior to the tenderest ties of nature and birth. Shall cleave (proskollhyhsetai , or kollhyhsetai); literally, shall be glued to; adhaerebit. The word expresses the closest possible union, stronger and higher than that towards parents. They twain shall be one flesh; the two shall become one flesh (esontai oi dio eiv sarka mian). The Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch insert "the two," which is not in the present Hebrew text. Our Lord adopts the addition as conveying the correct sense. In marriage there is a moral and physical union, so that two persons become virtually one being. Originally, man contained woman in himself before she was separated from him; she was a corporeal unity with man; or, as others put it, man, as a race, was created male and female, the latter being implicitly contained in the former; the previous unity is thus asserted. In marriage this unity is acknowledged and continued. St. Paul quotes this text in Eph_5:31; and in 1Co_6:16 uses it as an argument against fornication.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
In verse 5, Jesus quotes from Genesis to show that a husband and wife should not divorce.
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He who made them also said, 'For this reason ... flesh.'
This is part of what Jesus expected the Pharisees to have understood from the scripture. The direct quotation can be expressed as an indirect quotation. AT: "And surely you know that God also said that for this reason ... flesh" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Direct and Indirect Quotations)
For this reason
This is a part of the quotation from Genesis story about Adam and Eve. In that context the reason a man will leave his father and mother is because God created a woman to be the man's companion.
join to his wife
"stay close to his wife" or "live with his wife"
the two will become one flesh
This is a metaphor that emphasizes the unity of a husband and a wife. AT: "they will become like one person" (See: Metaphor)
So they are no longer two, but one flesh
This is a metaphor that emphasizes the unity of a husband and a wife. AT: "So a husband and wife are no longer like two persons, but they are like one person" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
flesh
God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.