📖 Biblical Definition
To cleave is to adhere strongly, to be glued to, to stick fast. It is the covenantal verb of marriage — "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24) — and the verb of the soul’s posture toward God: "Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave" (Deuteronomy 10:20; 11:22; 30:20). The English word ironically has two opposite meanings — "to split" and "to adhere" — but biblical cleaving is always the adhering kind. The covenant verb commands the soul: do not let go. "My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me" (Psalm 63:8).
📜 KJV Continual Tense
In KJV: cleaveth — sustained adhering, not momentary attachment.
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Psalm 63:8: "My soul followeth hard after thee" (KJV); literally "my soul cleaveth after thee." Continuous-aspect Hebrew — the soul's sustained pursuit-and-adherence.
Genesis 2:24: "a man... shall cleave unto his wife" — covenant marriage as ongoing adherence, not a wedding-day moment.
Deuteronomy 10:20: "Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave." Cleaving to God is the verb of sustained covenant fidelity.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
To adhere strongly; to stick fast (covenantal).
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To adhere; to stick close; to be united closely. The KJV's covenantal verb — husband cleaves to wife, soul cleaves to God, friend cleaves to friend (Ruth to Naomi). Curiously, English uses "cleave" for two opposite ideas (to split / to adhere); KJV usage is consistently the latter.
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 2:24 — "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
Ruth 1:14 — "And Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her."
Acts 11:23 — "Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Vocabulary largely lost in modern English; with it, the covenantal-adherence concept it carried has dimmed.
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Modern English speakers don't say "cleave" outside KJV contexts. The word's specific covenantal force — sustained, sticky, almost-glued adherence — gets translated thinner in modern versions ("hold fast," "be joined to"). Both are accurate but neither carries the picture.
Recover the figure: cleave is what dough does to skin, what super-glue does to wood, what the bride does to the groom. Sustained, not casual. Unable-to-easily-separate.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew dabaq; Greek proskollaō.
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['Hebrew', 'H1692', 'dabaq', 'to cling, cleave, stick to']
['Greek', 'G4347', 'proskollaō', 'to glue to, cleave to']
Usage
"Cleave to the LORD with purpose of heart."
"Husband cleaves to wife; soul cleaves to God."
"Ruth clave to Naomi — covenant friendship modeled."