The book of Amos is full of word-plays, double entendres, pictorial visions, and direct statements of fact and judgement. Smith's job is to address the historical, stylistic 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.
