"to join fast together, to glue, cement," is primarily said of metals and other materials (from kolla, "glue"). In the NT it is used only in the Passive Voice, with reflexive force, in the sense of "cleaving unto," as of cleaving to one's wife, Matthew 19:5; some mss. have the intensive verb No. 2, here; 1 Corinthians 6:16,17 , "joined." In the corresponding passage in Mark 10:7 , the most authentic mss. omit the sentence. In Luke 10:11 it is used of the "cleaving" of dust to the feet; in Acts 5:13; 8:29; 9:26; 10:28; 17:34 , in the sense of becoming associated with a person so as to company with him, or be on his side, said, in the last passage, of those in Athens who believed: in Romans 12:9 , ethically, of "cleaving" to that which is good. For its use in Revelation 18:5 see REACH (RV, marg. "clave together"). See COMPANY , JOIN.
in the Passive Voice, used reflexively, "to cleave unto," is found in Ephesians 5:31 (AV "joined to").
lit., "to abide with" (pros, "toward or with," and meno, "to abide"), is used of "cleaving" unto the Lord, Acts 11:23 . See ABIDE.