The first two verses of the book constitute a prologue. They contain an explanation of what follows, an identification of the writer, the time of his writing, and his theme. What follows are the words (i.e., collected messages, cf. Prov. 30:1; 31:1; Eccles. 1:1; Jer. 1:1) of Amos (lit. “burden-bearer”), who was one of the sheepherders who lived in the Judean town of Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem. “Amos” may be a shortened form of “Amasiah” (cf. 2 Chron.