2:24 leave. At marriage a man’s priorities change. Obligations to his wife take precedence.

hold fast to. This is the language of covenant commitment. Humans are never more like the covenant-keeping God than when they pledge themselves in covenant to one another. Marriage pictures God’s relationship to His people (Hos. 2:14–23; Eph. 5:22–32).

one flesh. A phrase pointing to the profound solidarity of the marriage relationship. The singular and total commitment involved implies that God intended marriage to be monogamous.