Genesis 17:16

16 And I will bless her; moreover, I give to you from her a son. And I will bless her, and {she shall give rise to nations}. Kings of peoples shall come from her."

Genesis 17:16 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 17:16

And I will bless her
The Targum of Jonathan adds, "in her body", with fruitfulness, who before was barren, and in her soul with spiritual blessings, and in both with the blessing of eternal life:

and give thee a son also of her;
as he had given him one of Hagar: God had before promised Abraham a son that should be his heir, but he had not till now told him that he should be born of Sarah his wife:

yea, I will bless her;
which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and for the greater strengthening Abraham's faith in it:

and she shall be [a mother] of nations;
of the twelve tribes of Israel; of the two nations of Israel and Judah;

kings of people shall be of her;
as David, Solomon, and others, and especially the King Messiah.

Genesis 17:16 In-Context

14 And [as for any] uncircumcised male who has not circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.
15 And God said to Abraham, "[as for] Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah [shall be] her name.
16 And I will bless her; moreover, I give to you from her a son. And I will bless her, and {she shall give rise to nations}. Kings of peoples shall come from her."
17 And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, "{Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old}, or {can Sarah bear a child at ninety}?"
18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"

Footnotes 2

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.