Using a combination of form-critical and linguistic methods, the author seeks to understand the role of the toledot formula, often translated "These are the generations of Name," in shaping the book of Genesis and the Pentateuch as a whole. An examination of the formula uncovers that it functions primarily as a heading to major sections of text and draws the readers' attention to focus on an ever narrower range of characters.

By starting from the perspective of the surface structure of the text and addressing questions that investigation raises, the study is able to uncover and resolve a number of tensions within the text, as well as provide insights into a number of other questions surrounding the toledot headings and the organization of the structure of the Pentateuch.