Genesis 17:16

And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Abraham regarding Sarai, whose name is changed to Sarah, at the moment of establishing the covenant sign of circumcision.

The words — The text explicitly states the Hebrew וּ/בֵרַכְתּ֣י (u./ve.rakh.Ti) as "and I will bless" and נָתַ֧תִּי (na.Ta.ti) as "I will give," marking the divine source of the promised offspring.

The thread — This declaration directly parallels Genesis 17:6 regarding kings descending from Abraham, is reiterated in Genesis 18:10 with the specific timeline of the birth, and anticipates the "company of nations" language of Genesis 35:11.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to accept that the son and the subsequent royal lineages are produced by God's direct action rather than natural human capacity.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וּבֵרַכְתִּ֣יu./ve.rakh.Tiand/ I will bless אֹתָ֔הּ'o.Ta/h<obj.>/ her וְגַ֨םve./Gamand/ also נָתַ֧תִּיna.Ta.tiI will give מִמֶּ֛נָּהmi.Me./nahfrom/ herלְךָ֖le./Khato <the>/ youבֵּ֑ןBena son וּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֙יהָ֙u./ve.rakh.Ti./haand/ I will bless/ her וְהָֽיְתָ֣הve./ha.ye.Tahand/ she will become לְגוֹיִ֔םle./go.Yim<into>/ nations מַלְכֵ֥יmal.Kheikings of עַמִּ֖ים'a.Mimpeoples מִמֶּ֥נָּהmi.Me./nahfrom/ her יִהְיֽוּ׃yih.Yuthey will be

King James Version

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Cross-references

Genesis 35:11 And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.
Genesis 17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
Genesis 18:10 Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
Isaiah 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”
Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
1 Peter 3:6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
Genesis 12:2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Genesis 24:60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
Romans 9:9 For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”