Extra-Toledothic

Why is the creation account in Genesis 1:1-2:3 outside the toledothic structure of the book as a whole?  The reason is bound up with the meaning of “toledoth.”  Rooted in the word for “beget,” it means “the begettings of” or “the product of.”  Genesis 2:4-4:26 recounts the begettings of heaven and earth, 5:1-6:8 the begettings of Adam, etc.

Genesis 1:1-2:3 is a record of creating not begetting.  God does order earth to bring forth plants and animals during the creation week, but still Genesis conceives of that as God’s own work rather than the begetting of earth.  When we get to Genesis 2, earth is seen as a more active partner in making – Watered by rain from heaven, the earth will sprout with plants (2:5), and though God forms man from the dust of the ground, still man is presented as one of the “begettings” of heaven and earth, the product of earthy dust and heavenly Breath.