become one flesh

become one flesh

To join together with another person in marriage. Taken from the biblical verse regarding marriage, "And the two shall become one flesh." It can also refer to sexual intercourse in general, which is meant in Judeo-Christian beliefs to be withheld until after marriage. My longtime girlfriend and I finally got engaged, and we will become one flesh this summer. Many people choose to wait until they are married to become one flesh with someone.
See also: become, flesh, one
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • be one flesh
  • one flesh
  • till death us do part
  • until death us do part
  • till
  • till death do us part
  • Hulda is making her bed
  • mariage blanc
  • shotgun marriage
  • a shotgun wedding/marriage
References in classic literature
"We must become one flesh without any delay, Jane: there is but the licence to get--then we marry."
'Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.'
''Haven't you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?'' (Matthew 19:4-5)'
A man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. This is the structure of the institution called marriage.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: 'In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion.' Therefore, when a husband and wife become one flesh, they renew their wedding promises in the flesh.
Nobody made it clearer than Jesus: 'This is why a man must leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body.
The bill quotes the Christian Bible and said the ruling "exceeds the authority of the court relative to the decree of Almighty God that 'a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh' ((https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%3A24&version=ESV) Genesis 2:24, ESV ) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history."
He speaks over Adam and Eve: "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."
In my opinion, marriage is a divine institution and not a human creation: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Gen 2:24).
I would draw attention to the opening words of the marriage service: "The Scriptures teach us that marriage is a gift of God in creation and a means of his grace, a holy mystery in which man and woman become one flesh.
I believe God's intention is that one person would give himself or herself fully to another in a relationship where "two shall become one flesh," as it says in Genesis.
That is what it means to say that in marriage man and woman become one flesh, and becoming one flesh in that way is, George says, the defining good of marriage.
However, for those concerned about the morality of their divorce, particularly in difficult situations, it may be helpful to read to the end of chapter 10 for a fuller understanding of how Jesus instructs believers to care for themselves (and by implication their spouse with whom they have become one flesh): "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut if off" (Mark 10:43a).
For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh."
(Genesis 2:24: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.")