21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Verse 24 is curious, no matter how you read it. Is it a continuation of Adam’s speech upon seeing Eve, or is it an insert by Moses? Because if it is the former, then it is very interesting that Adam already understood the concept of a “father and mother,” giving that he and Eve were to become the first ones. If it is the latter, though, it is a fascinating bit of foreshadowing by Moses.

Because as that verse states, man shall indeed leave father and mother to remain with the woman. Adam will soon make a choice between taking the fruit that Eve offers him, or else remaining alone in the garden with his heavenly parentage. And he is going to choose the woman, the one who is a part of him, the one that is “bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh.”

And the language of verse 24 seems to be approving this decision. It seems to suggest that this is a right and natural thing for Adam to do. Condescending from his cozy paradise to remain a partner with his soulmate, to face even death together, this is a beautiful concept. The classic marriage vow today echoes this sentiment with its pledges of “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” In fact, Adam’s choice is itself foreshadowing another individual: the Savior that will leave heavenly parentage to also be a partner to the fallen.