Book excerpt: The two independent studies in this volume are: 1. Alan J. Hauser, Yahweh versus Death-The Real Struggle in 1 Kings 17-19. Hauser argues that although Yahweh emerges victorious in the famous match against Baal in ch. 18, it is Yahweh's struggle with death that gives 1 Kings 17-19 its literary shape and dynamic. 2. Russell Gregory, Irony and the Unmasking of Elijah. Gregory detects a fundamental irony in 1 Kings 17-19: Elijah, driven by his ambitions to clear the country of the prophets of Baal and to lead the people back to the worship of the one true god, appears to be a diligent and forceful prophet for Yahweh. And yet, his frenetic activity only veils his arrogance and his subversion of the prophetic task.