Genesis 17:16

Gen 17:16 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.

Ver. 16. Yea, I will bless her.] This is repeated, for the greater comfort of this good old couple, q.d., I will double-bless her, bless her with a witness. Margarita in mari nascitur, verum ex rore coelesti .

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 16. I will bless her, c.] Sarah certainly stands at the head of all the women of the Old Testament, on account of her extraordinary privileges. I am quite of Calmet's opinion that Sarah was a type of the blessed Virgin. St. Paul considers her a type of the New Testament and heavenly Jerusalem and as all true believers are considered as the children of Abraham, so all faithful holy women are considered the daughters of Sarah, Ga 4:22; Ga 4:24; Ga 4:26. See also 1Pe 3:6.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) A son . . . of her.—This is the first place where it was definitely promised that Abram’s heir should be Sarah’s own son. This must be remembered in estimating the conduct of Abram and Sarah in the matter of Hagar. They had long waited, and hoped, before taking measures of their own for the fulfilment of the promise. The rest of the verse should be translated, “she shall become (grow into) nations: kings of peoples shall become of her, that is, “shall spring from her.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. nations … kings of peoples] See note on Gen_17:6.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Bless, and enable her to have a son, who shall also have many children. --- Whom. This is referred to Sara, in Hebrew and Chaldean; but to Isaac, in the Syriac. The blessing, at any rate, reverts to the mother; who was a figure of the blessed Virgin, and of the Church; both persecuted with their children; both, in the end, triumphant. (Galatians iv. 23.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

16. She shall be a mother of nations — Hebrews, she shall become nations. Hence appropriately named Sarah, the princess.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her (the first intimation that the promised seed was to be Sarai"s child), and she shall be a mother of nations; literally, she shall become nations (cf. Ver. 4)kings of people shall be of her.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

וברבתי אותה AND I WILL BLESS HER — And in what did the blessing consist? In that she resumed her youthfulness, as it is said, (Genesis 18:12) “shall I have the pleasure of youth again?” (Genesis Rabbah 47:2)

וברכתיה AND I WILL BLESS HER with teeming breasts. And this happened when she really needed this on the day of Isaac’s feast. For people were speaking spitefully about them, that they had adopted a foundling from the street saying, “This is our son.” Every one, therefore, brought her child with her, but did not bring the wet-nurse and she (Sarah) suckled all of them. To this refers that which is said (Genesis 21:7) “Sarah has given suck to children”. In Genesis Rabbah 47:2 this is alluded to in part.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וברכתי, I will restore her youthfulness so that she will begin having her periods again. Another, even greater miracle, will be the fact that she will give birth. This is meant by the additional words וגם נתתי ממנה לך בן, "and I will also give you a son from her." The word נתתי is similarly used in Genesis 23,13 נתתי כסף השדה "I have given the money for the field," where also the transaction had not taken place yet, but Avraham made plain that he had already made all the arrangement s from his side. When G'd promised it is as if it had happened already.

וברכתיה, with numerous seed which will emerge from her son. This is the meaning of the words והיתה לגוים, "she will develop into nations." The reference is to her grandchildren Esau and Yaakov, each of whom became founding fathers of large nations. Possible, G'd referred only to the descendants of Yaakov as per Onkelos. This too is meant by the words מלכי עמים, "kings of nations." Compare verse 6 above.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.