2:4 the generations of. This Hebrew word (toledoth), sometimes rendered “the history of” or “the genealogy of,” introduces major new developments in the Genesis narrative (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2). The “generations of the heavens and the earth” pertains to what follows—to what the universe generated—rather than to the preceding account of the generation or creation of the earth.

Lord God. Normally these names for God are isolated: “God” to represent Him as sovereign Creator of all, and “Lord” to signify His unique covenant commitment to Israel (Ex. 3:14, 15). Here they are combined to stress that the Creator is also Israel’s covenant God.