1 The first phrase of the book could be rendered “the instructions of the LORD” rather than the more common “the word of the LORD” to differentiate between the phrase used here (cf. also Jer 1:4 and Hos 1:2) and the phrase that is similar and used to introduce the majority of the prophetic books (Hos 1:1; Joel 1:1; Mic 1:1; Zep 1:1; Hag 1:1; Zec 1:1; Mal 1:1). In the latter, the “word of the LORD” refers to the message
Page 469