The book of Genesis is organized by a structure marker in Hebrew that divides each of the literary sections. That structure marker is sometimes called the “Toledoth Formula” from the Hebrew word תולדת, which means “descendants” or “generations.” The formula goes like this, in Genesis 2:4 we read, “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth” (ESV). Then in 5:1 we read, “This is the book of the generations of Adam.”

There are ten such “Toledoth” sections in the book of Genesis that appear at the head of important developments in the storyline (Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2). Each one focuses on a particular character in the story. For instance Gen. 5:1 gives us the “generations” of Adam, the progenitor of the human race, 6:9 gives us Noah’s descendants, and 11:27 focuses in on Abraham’s family line.

What each of these toledoths do is they function as a method of zeroing the reader in on one very important promise. That is the promise that God makes in Gen. 3:15 that the seed of the woman will someday crush the head of the serpent. There are some fascinating themes that are developed throughout the Old Testament related to God’s servants crushing the heads of God’s enemies (I’ll save that for a later post). But our primary concern with this post is God’s promise that an offspring of Eve will be the one who provides her ultimate deliverance by vanquishing the serpent who deceived her.

Throughout Genesis, the toledoth formula functions to circle in on descendants who represent that promised hope. It starts with a wide angle – Adam as the father of the human race, and it gets narrower with Noah (6:9) and specifically the line of his son Shem (11:10). Within Shem’s line there is a family that descends from Terah (Abraham’s father – 11:27).

From the wide angle of the whole human race, we single-in on a specific family that God promises to make into a great nation (Gen. 12:2). At this point in the story, it is apparent that the Deliverer descends from Abraham’s family line. That limits the field from all nations of the earth to the nation that descends from his seed.

By the time we reach the final toledoth in the book, we have a clearer picture of what that nation will look like. It will come through Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, the namesake of the nation of Israel (Gen. 37:2). By the end of the book of Genesis, a book that is structured according to the theme of tracing descendants, we have narrowed the playing field to the humble nation of Israel, through which God will bring about the promises he initiated with a declaration to Eve that her descendant would crush the serpent’s head––redemption.

How a Moabite Woman Fits In

Fast-forward about 500 years from Moses’ composition of the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy) and the author of Ruth picks up on a key theme. At the very end of this little story that itself deals with the reconciliation of Abraham’s relatives (offering a foretaste of the reconciliation of all nations one day) the author suddenly closes the book with a note about descendants.

In 4:18, we read “these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, ²⁰ Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, ²¹ Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, ²² Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.”

Now, almost half a millennium later, we pick up the story line again tracing descendants. Not only will the promised Deliverer come from the nation of Israel, descended from Abraham, but He will also be related to this genealogy. The author of Ruth is intentionally bridging the gap for us to David, showing how the story of this faithful Moabite woman brings us to the most important king in the Old Testament.

As we read through 1 and 2 Samuel, we discover David’s rise to power and the promise that God makes to him that his Son will reign over an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12). Again the theme of important descendants comes into play, only now it is much more specific. It is not just any individual from the chosen nation, but it is specifically a descendant of David who will carry up and fulfill all the promises that have accumulated to this point in the story.

Picking Up Where the Old Testament Left Off

Now fast-forward to the beginning of the New Testament. How does Matthew begin his gospel? Here it is: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matt. 1:1)” The New Testament authors picked up on this theme of tracing descendants throughout the Old Testament.

It’s not just tracing descendants for the sake of showing family connections though. It’s part of a grander scheme showing God’s faithfulness to His covenants and to His promises from the beginning. Matthew was writing for a particularly Jewish audience which is why his genealogy focuses in on some very important hallmarks of the Jewish storyline (King David and the patriarch Abraham).

It’s amazing to see how God has not just fulfilled His promises over time, but also how He reveals Himself as the true Author of scripture, seamlessly bringing together important developments and storylines into one grand picture of His awesome plan.