Albert Barnes Commentary Jeremiah 1:1

"The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:" — Jeremiah 1:1 (ASV)

The words of Jeremiah - The usual title of the prophetic books is “the Word of the Lord,” but the two books of Amos and Jeremiah are called the words of those prophets, probably because they contain not merely prophecies, but also the record of much that belongs to the personal history of the writers. This title might therefore be translated as “the life of Jeremiah” or “the acts of Jeremiah,” though some understand it as a collection of the prophecies of Jeremiah. One derivation of Jeremiah’s name is “God exalts.”

Hilkiah may have been the high priest of that name.

That were - Or, who was, that is, dwelt. The meaning is that Jeremiah was a priest who dwelt at Anathoth.