The story of Elijah and Elisha begins with three narratives that are united by the theme of death, whether impending or actual. The first two accounts center on problems with water and food. Without them, we die, yet often, especially in affluent societies like our own, we take them for granted. In Elijah’s day, the Israelites, under the influence of the royal family, were swayed to the pagan view that Baal, the Canaanite god of weather and fertility, was the source of water