Toledot

The word toledot — begettings, generations — gave its name to Jewish genealogy itself. The section shows that transmission is never mechanical: the firstborn does not inherit, the blessing passes through a trick, and the mother decides. Nothing is more foreign to this text than the idea of a pure lineage unfolding without a hitch. Esau, set aside, becomes Edom: the rival brother remains inscribed in the tree.