Jesus, Joseph and Job

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Joseph, Jesus, and Job are prominent religious figures in Christianity and Islam, inspiring various artistic and literary endeavors in and beyond the Arab world. This study explores how three Lebanese women authors creatively engage with these figures in their fiction. Huda Barakat reimagines the Qur’anic Yusuf during Lebanon's Civil War, altering his relationship with Zulaykha in *Hajar al-dahik*. Najwa Barakat presents Jesus as a Lebanese peasant named Hamad in *Hayat wa alam Hamad ibn Silana*, structured through four narratives. Andrée Chedid gives voice to her protagonist in *La femme de Job*, reclaiming her story. The authors utilize these religious figures to harness the imaginative power of sacred texts, enhancing their narratives. The study posits that the social, political, and literary dimensions of these works are interconnected, addressing themes such as gender equality, male-female relationships, rigid gender identities, confessional loyalties, and resistance to violence and war. Employing intertextuality and postcolonial feminist theory, the book examines how to categorize these works—whether as Arabic, French, or women’s literature—and situates them within a broader literary dialogue. Consequently, it contributes to ongoing discussions in Near Eastern and Arab literary studies.