Words matter. At a recent wedding, the pastor quoted Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” For some unknown reason, my mind went to the King James version: “…a man…shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Given the violence associated with the word “cleave,” it’s hard to imagine what the KJV translators were thinking when they chose the word.
Cleave – split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain. A meat cleaver is the stereotypical butcher’s knife, “mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through thick pieces of meat. The knife’s broad side can also be used for crushing in food preparation…” A cleaver is a violent tool – splitting, slashing, and crushing – because cleaving is a violent act.
Marriage as an act of cleaving
I wonder if the KJV translators were on to something. The Hebrew word focuses on the end result: “they shall become.” The KJV takes the liberty to describe the process. For the two to become one, they must first cleave from their parents. That can be painful. They must also cleave from some of their individuality, which might be more painful. But when the rawness and vulnerability press against each other over time, they grow together.
Another process that begins with cleaving is grafting. A branch is separated from one tree and attached to another tree by first cutting the branch free. The other tree must be prepared by cutting it. Now that raw living tissue is exposed on both, the wounds are bound together, forcing them to “hold fast” until they grow together. They become one flesh through otherwise violent actions. The violent action of cleaving makes it work.
Cleaving to God
The Bible often uses marriage as an analogy for a relationship with God. The word “cleave” works as well in that relationship. Too often, we think of God cleaving people or actions from Himself. “[The Father] cuts off every branch in [Jesus] that bears no fruit…” (John 15:2) But don’t miss the grafting imagery as He binds people to Himself. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
The grafting begins with creating the wound in Jesus. “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) God took the cleaver to Jesus. Then He prepared us. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25) We find life when we are cut free from our old life and hold fast to the wounded space of God that He created for us.
Cleaving
Cleaving. Grafting. Uniting. Growing. These are words that are rich with meaning. They take on even greater meaning when we focus on what we are cleaving from, who we are grafted to, what the union costs us, and whether we are growing.
- What is God cleaving us from? Or what would require a violent act to get us to separate from it?
- To what or whom are we grafted to? Will the graft yield the fruit we want?
- What will it cost to remain grafted to the one who gives life and yields fruit?
- What is the evidence that we are grafted into the vine?
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