Hebrew word · H8435

תּוֹלֵדוֹת

toldot

generation

"Begettings": the line of descendants who come from someone. By extension it also means the account or family history organised around that line.

Appears 39 times in 39 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) descendants, results, proceedings, generations, genealogies

1a) account of men and their descendants

1a1) genealogical list of one's descendants

1a2) one's contemporaries

1a3) course of history (of creation etc)

1b) begetting or account of heaven (metaph)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 6:16

Range of meaning

"Begettings": the line of descendants who come from someone. By extension it also means the account or family history organised around that line. It comes from the verb yalad, "to bear, beget." It can mean (1) descendants arranged by lineage, (2) a genealogical record, or (3) an account of what developed from someone (Genesis 2:4, "the toledot of the heavens and the earth").

Against the English

KJV, ESV, NASB and WEB have "according to their generations." BSB and NIV have "according to their records." YLT has "as to their births." "Generations" is the traditional rendering, but today it suggests age cohorts. "Records" points to a written list, which the Hebrew word does not strictly mean. A plain rendering would be "by their family lines" or "in order of descent."

How it drifted

In older English (from the Latin generationes of the Vulgate), "generations" meant lines of begetting and descent. Modern English mostly uses it for age groups or for the time span of one generation.

Used elsewhere in the period

It structures Genesis in the formula "these are the toledot of…" (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1; 37:2). It is frequent in the census lists of Numbers 1 and in Chronicles. The Greek translation (Septuagint) usually renders it genesis or syngeneia, "origin, kinship." The phrase "according to their toledot" is typical of the priestly sections of the Torah.

From the study of Genesis 10:1

Range of meaning

A plural noun from yalad, 'to bear, beget'. Literally 'begettings'. Used for (1) genealogical lines and lists of descendants; (2) the family history that comes out of a person; (3) in Numbers and Chronicles, 'by their lineages', i.e. how people are organised by descent. It never appears in the singular.

Against the English

KJV/ESV 'generations' (via Latin generationes) sounds to modern ears like age groups (a generation of 25–30 years, 'Generation X'). BSB/NIV 'account' and NLT 'account of the families' get the function (a section heading) but lose the root idea of birth and offspring. NASB's 'records of the generations' adds a word to cover both. YLT's 'births' is the most literal.

How it drifted

Latin generatio and early English 'generation' meant 'begetting, offspring, line of descent'. Modern English has narrowed 'generation' to a cohort of people of the same age, so the KJV wording now suggests something the Hebrew does not say.

Used elsewhere in the period

The formula 'these are the toledot of X' (or 'this is the book of the toledot of X', 5:1) structures Genesis: 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9; 37:2. Outside Genesis: Numbers 3:1; Ruth 4:18; heavily in Numbers 1 and 1 Chronicles. The Septuagint translates it geneseis ('origins, generations'), the source of the Greek book name 'Genesis' and of Matthew 1:1's 'book of the genesis of Jesus Christ'.

From the study of 1 Chronicles 9:9

Range of meaning

From the verb yalad, 'to give birth'. It means 'begettings', so descendants, family line, genealogical record, or a family history (as in Genesis's 'these are the toledot of…').

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT 'according to their generations' is literal but easy to misread. BSB 'according to their genealogy' gives the sense.

How it drifted

Modern 'generation' means an age group or a span of about 25–30 years, so 'according to their generations' can sound like a count over time.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 10:1. In Chronicles: 1 Chr 5:7; 7:2, 4, 9; 8:28; 9:34, always of genealogical registration. Compare the verb hityachas, 'be enrolled by genealogy', in 1 Chr 9:1, 22.

Where it appears

Genesis · 13
  1. Genesis 2:4 תוֹלְד֧וֹת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.

    Here: From the verb 'to give birth, father.' It means what is produced by someone: their offspring and the story of what came from them. The earth and the heavens are spoken of as if they were a parent whose 'family history' now begins.

  2. Genesis 5:1 תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת [the] descendants of

    This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.

    Here: Comes from yalad, 'to father / give birth'. It means 'what was fathered by' someone: his descendants and the story of his line. The heading introduces Adam's line, not Adam's own origin.

  3. Genesis 6:9 תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.

    Here: Literally 'begettings', from the verb 'to father'. In the heading it means 'the story of what came from Noah': his family and what happened to them. The section it introduces is mostly the flood story (6:9–9:29), not a list of names.

  4. Genesis 10:1 תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.

    Here: Literally 'begettings', from the verb 'to bear/beget'. It introduces what came out of Noah's sons: their descendants, set out as the peoples of the known world. Not 'the origins of the sons' but 'what the sons produced'.

  5. Genesis 10:32 לְתוֹלְדֹתָ֖ם to descendants their

    All these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations. From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.

    Here: 'According to their lines of descent': arranged by who came from whom. It repeats the key word of 10:1 ('these are the generations of the sons of Noah'), closing the section with the word that opened it.

  6. Genesis 11:10 תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.

  7. Genesis 11:27 תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

    Here: Literally "begettings": what came out of Terah. It introduces the story of his descendants, and that story turns out to be mostly about Abram, not about Terah himself.

  8. Genesis 25:12 תֹּלְדֹ֥ת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.

  9. Genesis 25:13 לְתוֹלְדֹתָ֑ם to descendants their

    These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

  10. Genesis 25:19 תּוֹלְדֹ֥ת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,

  11. Genesis 36:1 תֹּלְד֥וֹת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).

  12. Genesis 36:9 תֹּלְד֥וֹת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the area of Mount Seir.

  13. Genesis 37:2 תֹּלְד֣וֹת [are] [the] accounts of

    This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Exodus · 3
  1. Exodus 6:16 לְתֹ֣לְדֹתָ֔ם to descendants their

    These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

    Here: "By their family lines," meaning arranged according to who descended from whom. The word comes from the verb "to give birth" and is the key word for genealogy in Genesis and the priestly writings. It does not mean an age group.

  2. Exodus 6:19 לְתֹלְדֹתָֽם׃ to descendants their

    The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.

  3. Exodus 28:10 כְּתוֹלְדֹתָֽם׃ according to genealogies their

    six of their names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, in the order of their birth.

Numbers · 13
  1. Numbers 1:20 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  2. Numbers 1:22 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Simeon, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  3. Numbers 1:24 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Gad, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  4. Numbers 1:26 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Judah, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  5. Numbers 1:28 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Issachar, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  6. Numbers 1:30 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Zebulun, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  7. Numbers 1:32 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Joseph: From the sons of Ephraim, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  8. Numbers 1:34 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    And from the sons of Manasseh, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  9. Numbers 1:36 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Benjamin, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  10. Numbers 1:38 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Dan, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  11. Numbers 1:40 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Asher, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  12. Numbers 1:42 תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥ם genealogies their

    From the sons of Naphtali, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,

  13. Numbers 3:1 תּוֹלְדֹ֥ת [are] [the] descendants of

    This is the account of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

Ruth · 1
  1. Ruth 4:18 תּוֹלְד֣וֹת [are] [the] descendants of

    Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,

1 Chronicles · 9
  1. 1 Chronicles 1:29 תֹּלְדוֹתָ֑ם [were] generations their

    These are their genealogies: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

  2. 1 Chronicles 5:7 לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֑ם to generations their

    His relatives by their clans are recorded in their genealogy: Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,

  3. 1 Chronicles 7:2 לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֑ם to generations their

    The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their families. In the days of David, 22,600 descendants of Tola were numbered in their genealogies as mighty men of valor.

  4. 1 Chronicles 7:4 לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֜ם to generations their

    In addition to them, according to their genealogy, they had 36,000 troops for battle, for they had many wives and children.

  5. 1 Chronicles 7:9 לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֗ם to generations their

    Their genealogies were recorded according to the heads of their families—20,200 mighty men of valor.

  6. 1 Chronicles 8:28 לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֖ם to generations their

    All these were heads of families, the chiefs according to their genealogies, and they lived in Jerusalem.

  7. 1 Chronicles 9:9 לְתֹ֣לְדוֹתָ֔ם to generations their

    and 956 of their relatives according to their genealogy. All these men were heads of their families.

    Here: "According to their lines of descent": the count was made by genealogical registration. It means 'as recorded in their family lines', not 'across several generations of time'.

  8. 1 Chronicles 9:34 לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֖ם to generations their

    All these were heads of Levite families, chiefs according to their genealogies, and they lived in Jerusalem.

  9. 1 Chronicles 26:31 לְתֹלְדֹתָ֖יו to generations his

    As for the Hebronites, Jerijah was the chief of the Hebronites, according to the genealogies of his ancestors. In the fortieth year of David’s reign the records were searched, and strong, capable men were found among the Hebronites at Jazer in Gilead.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.