Cleft – (adj – Past participle of cleave verb-1) Split, fissure, rift, space or opening made by cleaving.
This word appears 7 times in Scripture: All to Israel in their Masoretic Text Old Testament.
Clefts are generally found in geologic features, but can also be the fissure in an incompletely split log, or the opening made by the ax. The usage today, in regard to a cleft-pallet in a person’s mouth, is inaccurate. The rift or space was not introduced through the use of force, but instead is the result of a birth defect.
Cloven – (adj – Past participle of cleave verb-1) Divided, split.
This word appears in its various forms 5 times in Scripture: 4 times to Israel in their Masoretic Text Old Testament; and Once to Israel in the transition book of Acts.
Of the 5 appearances in Scripture, 3 are “clovenfooted”, 1 is “cloven hoof”, and 1 is “cloven tongues”.
See also Cleave