Further, we would say that the toledot formula indicates a consistent interest in a carefully selected sequence of past events. The composer incorporates these sources as reports received from the past to create his account of the past. This is true of Genesis 1–11 as much as Genesis 12–50. This conclusion does not necessarily mean that the composer did not shape the toledot as he created the text as we know it. Discussions about the early chapters of Genesis often focus on whether the accounts are