Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

James Christian:
 
The toledoths in the original Patriarchal narratives were largely confined 
to sons.  The wives of sons may be mentioned, and an occasional grandson.  
But the focus is on sons, not on multiple generations.
 
1.  Terakh
 
(a)  Non-original.  The multi-generations listed prior to Genesis 11: 26-27 
do not fit the pattern.  That was added centuries later.
 
(b)  Genesis 11: 27 is a classic toledoth, largely confined to sons, though 
also mentioning Lot as a son of Terakh’s son Haran.
 
2.  Ishmael
 
Genesis 15: 12-15 tells us about Ishmael’s sons.
 
3.  Isaac
 
Genesis 25: 19 tells us that Isaac was Abraham’s son, and then subsequent 
verses tell us about Isaac’s wife and Isaac’s twin sons.
 
4.  Esau
 
(a)  Genesis 36: 1-5 tells us the names of Esau’s sons, and also Esau’s 
wives.
 
(b)  Non-original.  Genesis 36: 9 starts over again, being a dead give-away 
that this is later-added material.  Genesis 36: 9-43 is a 
multi-generational listing, a little bit like the non-original material at 
Genesis 11: 10-25. 
 It’s nothing like the toledoths in the original Patriarchal narratives at 
all.
 
5.  Jacob
 
Genesis 37: 2 refers to toledoth.  But the extensive information about Jacob
’s 12 sons and his various wives largely occurs earlier, at Genesis 29: 
31-35 and continuing on [though later broken by the current chapter division] 
at Genesis 30: 1-24.  The birth of the 12th son, Benjamin, is told about at 
Genesis 35: 16-20.
 
*       *       *
 
It’s not a rigid formula.  But in the 5 original toledoths, what one gets 
is mainly information about a man’s sons.  Sometimes the wives figure 
prominently, and there may on rare occasion be a mention of a grandson.
 
Genesis 46: 8-27 is of course original.  The word toledoth is not mentioned 
there.  The primary focus there is to list all the many sons of Jacob’s 12 
sons.  We already knew long before all about Jacob’s 12 sons themselves.  
Chapter 46 of Genesis then primarily focuses on a single generation:  the 
sons 
of Jacob’s sons.  Yes, there’s some mention of a few grandsons, a female 
descendant or two, and some wives, but still the focus is, as always, on the 
next generation of sons.
 
Genesis 11: 10-25 bears no reasonable resemblance to the original toledoths 
in the Patriarchal narratives.  It’s perhaps a little like Esau’s second, 
non-original toledoth at Genesis 36: 9-43, but all that material is very, 
very late.
 
In the original Patriarchal narratives, the focus of each toledoth is on 
one generation of sons, not long lists of multiple generations.  So based on 
the other four original toledoths, it makes complete sense for the 
Patriarchal narratives to have originally started at what today is labeled 
Genesis 11: 
26.  That fits the pattern perfectly.  With the exception of the 5 original 
toledoths above and the listing of the many sons of Jacob’s 12 sons in 
chapter 46 of Genesis, the other toledoths in Genesis are very late, and as 
multi-generational listings are completely different from those original 
toledoths.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois