General Structure of Genesis

i) According to main characters.

Gen 1-11        Primeval History. Stories of beginnings. Relates later Israelites to rest of humanity.
Gen 12-23     Abram/Sarai
        24-26     Isaac/Rebekah. (abridged)
        27-36     Jacob/Leah/Rachel
        37-50     Joseph + brothers in Egypt.

ii) Genealogical link through book.

Gen 5;11:10-26 = Genealogical entries with a regular structure:

e.g. Gen 5:9-11     9 When Enosh had lived ninety years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 Enosh lived after the birth of Kenan eight hundred fifteen years, and had other sons and daughters. 11 Thus all the days of Enosh were nine hundred five years; and he died.

age at birth of son
duration of following years
other children
age at death
death notice

"So we meet everywhere this ardent desire to establish a genealogical connection. At the base of it lies the conviction that the solidarity created by the ancestors in the past in every separate clan and in every larger group is of decisive importance for those who live now. These interrelations explain the present; they give meaning to the things of today. Here too the past forcibly engrosses the thought and the imagination. here too it possesses normative strength. If the Greeks ask what the present reality is, what it must be and how it should be, they look backward to find the answer. This answer depends on that which they see or take for granted in the past."

iii) The Toledot structure of Genesis

toledot means "generations, descendants etc."

Gen 1:1-2:3             Used as preface for whole work
Gen 2:4a                 Toledot of the heavens and earth
                                                            (section title for Gen 2:4b-4:26)
Gen 5:1a                 Toledot of Adam
                                                            (section title for Gen 5:1-6:8)
                                        (This possibly formed a heading for an earlier form of part of the material)
Gen 6:9a                 Toledot of Noah
                                                            (section title for Gen 6:9-9:29)
Gen 10:1                 Toledot of sons of Noah
                                                            (section title for Gen 10:1-11:9)
Gen 11:10a             Toledot of Shem
                                                            (section title for Gen 11:10-26)
Gen 11:27a             Toledot of Terah
                                                            (section title for Gen 11:27-25:11)

Gen 25:12a             Toledot of Ishmael
                                                            (section title for Gen 25:12-18)

Gen 25:19a             Toledot of Isaac
                                                            (section title for Gen 25:19-35:29)

Gen 36:1                 Toledot of Esau
                                                            (section title for Gen 36:1-37:1)
                                        (Note duplicate from another tradition in 36:9)

Gen 37:2                 Toledot of Jacob
                                                            (section title for Gen 37:1-50:26)