Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 17:16 takes the blessing the Lord pronounces over Sarah and stretches it forward across centuries. I will bless in her body, and will also give from her a son to thee, and I will bless him, and he shall be for assemblies, and kings ruling over nations shall be from her.

Three blessings stack in a single verse. A blessing on the body — the miracle that an aged, barren woman will carry a child. A blessing on the son himself, the future Isaac, who will one day father a nation. And a blessing on the line that will come out of her — assemblies, whole congregations, and kings ruling over nations.

The Aramaic word for assemblies is doing heavy lifting. It anticipates the tribes of Israel gathered at Sinai, the worshippers standing in the Temple courts, every Jewish congregation in every city across later history. From one woman's body, says the Lord, a long column of gathered peoples is going to descend.

The Maggid hears how much of the promise is carried by Sarah. The Hebrew already says this; the Targum presses it. Kings will come from her. Not from Abraham alone. Not from the handmaid. From Sarah. Genesis 17:16 folds David, Solomon, and all the kings of Judah into the genealogy of a ninety-year-old laughing in her tent. It is one of the Torah's clearest warnings against writing women out of the covenant. The kingdom, the congregation, the nations — they all exit, eventually, through Sarah's body.