Genesis 2:24
Therefore shall a man leave his father, and his
mother
These are thought by some to be the words of Moses, inferring
from the above fact, what ought to be among men; and by others,
the words of Adam under divine inspiration, as the father of
mankind instructing his sons what to do, and foretelling what
would be done in all succeeding ages: though they rather seem to
be the words of God himself, by whom marriage was now instituted;
and who here gives direction about it, and declares the case and
circumstance of man upon it, and how he would and should behave:
and thus our Lord Jesus Christ, quoting these words, makes them
to be the words of him that made man, male and female, and
supplies and prefaces them thus, and said, "for this cause" (
Matthew
19:5 ) so Jarchi paraphrases them,
``the Holy Ghost said so:''
not that a man upon his marriage is to drop his affections to his
parents, or be remiss in his obedience to them, honour of them, and
esteem for then, or to neglect the care of them, if they stand in
need of his assistance; but that he should depart from his father's
house, and no more dwell with him, or bed and board in his house;
but having taken a wife to himself, should provide an habitation
for him and her to dwell together: so all the three Targums
interpret it, of quitting "the house of his father, and his
mother's bed",
and shall cleave unto his wife;
with a cordial affection, taking care of her, nourishing and
cherishing her, providing all things comfortable for her,
continuing to live with her, and not depart from her as long as
they live: the phrase is expressive of the near union by marriage
between man and wife; they are, as it were, glued together, and
make but one; which is more fully and strongly expressed in the
next clause:
and they shall be one flesh;
that is, "they two", the man and his wife, as it is supplied and
interpreted by Christ, (
Matthew 19:5 ) and so
here in the Targum of Jonathan, and in the Septuagint and Samaritan
versions: the union between them is so close, as if they were but
one person, one soul, one body; and which is to be observed against
polygamy, unlawful divorces, and all uncleanness, fornication, and
adultery: only one man and one woman, being joined in lawful
wedlock, have a right of copulation with each other, in order to
produce a legitimate offspring, partaking of the same one flesh, as
children do of their parents, without being able to distinguish the
flesh of the one from the other, they partake of: and from hence it
appears to be a fabulous notion, that Cecrops, the first king of
Athens, was the first institutor of matrimony and joiner of one man
to one woman; whence he was said to be "biformis" {p}, and was
called (
difuhv) ; unless, as
some
F17 have thought, that he and Moses were
one and the same who delivered out the first institution of
marriage, which is this.