Definition
Toledoth (Hebrew: תּוֹלְדוֹת) means “generations”, “offspring”, or “account of the descendants.” The word serves as a structural formula in Genesis: “These are the toledoth of…” (Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; etc.) marking each new section of the book. There are eleven occurrences referring to Adam’s post-fall descendants, plus one pre-fall entry (Gen. 2:4: the creation itself) and one eschatological entry (Ruth 4:18: the lineage leading to David).
The hamartological significance of toledoth was identified by Bullinger in the Hebrew spelling variants: the eleven post-fall occurrences are spelled defectively (omitting the waw), while the pre-fall creation and the messianic lineage appear in plene (full) spelling. This encoding makes the Fall and its consequences visible as a thread woven through the texture of the entire Scripture.
Usage in the corpus
E.W. Bullinger
Bullinger analyses the defective spelling of toledoth in Gen. 5:1 ff. as a textual trace of the Fall: “Thus the eleven which relate to Adam and his posterity are stamped with deficiency: while the first, which relates to the heavens and the earth, speaks of the perfection in which they were created; and the last, which relates to Pharez (Ruth 4:18), contains the first mention of the name of David, and speaks of the Perfect One — David’s Son and David’s Lord, who will restore perfection for His people, as well as for the new heavens and the new earth.” The grammar of the Hebrew text thus contains a theological arc from the Fall to eschatological restoration. [Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, Ch. II]