What does "cleave unto" mean in a wedding ceremony?

[Lliam]

"Do you promise to love, to cherish, to honor to protect, forsaking all others, in sickness as well as in health. In adversity as well as in prosperity. For better or for worse, and to cleave only to her so long as you both shall live?"

Cleave:
verb: cleave; 3rd person present: cleaves; past tense: clove; past tense: cleft; past tense: cleaved; gerund or present participle: cleaving; past participle: cloven

1. split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain.
"the large axe his father used to cleave wood for the fire"

Similar:
split
split open
crack open
lay open
divide
sever
cut (up)
hew
chop up
slice
halve
bisect
rend
sunder
rive

2. make a way through (something) forcefully, as if by splitting it apart.
"they watched a coot cleave the smooth water"

Given the definition, doesn't cleaving unto a woman sound sexy?

Updates

1 y

I think it means to only cleave her for the rest of your life. Hopefully you cleave her good.

[RavVid]

As it turns out there are two cleaves. One from old English CLIFIAN meaning to adhere and the other CLEOFAN meaning to split.

We could possibly interpret 'cleave only unto her' as being a graphic description that you only get to spread her legs now. That incorporates the splitting sense of cleave quite nicely in my view.

So it is a deliberate double entendre in the King James Bible. I think this view makes cleaving unto a woman sound even sexier.

[Lliam]

I think double entendre is exactly right.

[RavVid]

:) cleaving unto a woman is quite dirty when you think about it. I like checking the roots of words because there surprises. The word NICE has had several meanings and once meant wanton & lustful.

I have particularly enjoyed discovering that 'cleave' has had two roots that have coalesced to one current word. Much appreciate the cool question. Thanks.

[Makeushiver]

Cleave is one of the rare English words that mean both the definition that you have as well as the opposite as in join together.

[LazerBean]

I always interpreted it to mean that if you have to split away from something in life, make sure you and your spouse are stuck together and splitting away together.

[rachel776]

hang on to each other for dear life 🤷‍♀️ (in bed too i would imagine)

[Nikki1989]

It means to stick or hold firmly onto something.

[Lynnzee]

Hold on to, embrace

[Daniela1982]

Cleave also means to hold fast to.

[Sevenpointfive]

it means to tear that pussy up