Word came, saying

After Genesis 15, the next time the “word of God came . . . saying” is in Samuel. The word of God comes to Samuel, saying that Saul is rejected (1 Samuel 15:10), and again comes to Nathan to deliver the promise to David (2 Samuel 7:4). The connection of Genesis 15 and 2 Samuel 7 is important, for the latter passage specifies the “seed” promised to Abram in the first passage.

He comes again to Gad, David’s seer, to give David his choices for punishment (2 Samuel 24:10), a passage that climaxes in the selection of a site for the temple. Then the word comes to Solomon to promise to dwell among the sons of Israel in the temple (1 Kings 6:11).

This phrasing is often used with prophets in both the historical books and in the prophets, especially in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.