The book of Amos is full of wordplays, double entendres, pictorial visions, and direct statements of fact and judgement. Smith’s job is to address the historical, stylistice and interpretative aspects of Amos: not just what is written, but also how and why the prophecies are recorded. To do this, Smith divides each of his chapters as follows:

• Important textual and philological questions;
• Background study on the literary traditions and forms of speech employed;
• Rhetorical markers of structure that unite paragraphs or larger units;
• Exegetical issues of interpretation;
• Main theological themes within each unit.

Smith deals especially well with the last of these. Each chapter ends with him drawing together the interpretative threads arising from the passage.