The Institute for Bible Translation has recently published a new edition in the Avar language — Tavrat (the Pentateuch). The translation has been reviewed by scholars and received a stamp of approval from the Tsadasa Institute of Language, Literature and Art of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
This foundational biblical text, the initial part of the Old Testament, consists of five books traditionally attributed to Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They contain the key events of biblical history, including the creation of the world, the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and the laws of sacrifice and priestly service. The reader is introduced to the stories of Cain and Abel, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and other significant events in biblical history. We learn about the origin of mankind, from Adam to Noah, as well as the great patriarchs of the Jewish nation, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The book also tells how Moses received the Ten Commandments from God and how the Torah (loosely translated as “Law”) was established.
The Avar language is one of the official languages of the Republic of Dagestan and is widely spoken in the western parts of the region. The Avars are the most numerous people in Dagestan. They also live in eastern Georgia and northern Azerbaijan. The language belongs to the Avar-Andian group of the Nakh-Dagestan language family and serves as an important tool for interethnic communication and education among many peoples of the Caucasus. According to the results of the Russian Federation’s 2020 population census, the total number of Avars in Russia is over one million people (1,012,074 to be exact).
The IBT translation team includes experts in the Avar language and exegetes with knowledge of the original Hebrew text against which the Avar translation was checked. Speaking about the difficulties of the work, the translator noted that the recipient language often lacks relevant concepts and terms that would be equivalent to those used in the source text. In addition, the text itself comes from a different historical period, culture, language, and living conditions. Therefore, translating the Pentateuch into the modern language so that Avar readers could understand its content correctly was not an easy task. If you can't find the right words in the existing Avar lexicon, you may have to invent new terms, use descriptive phrases, or add footnotes to make the translation clearer. For example, it was decided to retain the Hebrew word herem (variously rendered in English translations as “prohibition”, “the ban”, “devotion to destruction”), give it a footnote, and place it in a glossary so that readers would gradually become accustomed to the term. Likewise, it was decided to maintain at least some distinction between the different names and epithets of God. Thus, the sacred tetragrammaton YHWH is always capitalized as BETӀERGYAN, while the title Adonai is simply BetIergyan, etc. In the process of working on the translation, repeatedly reading it aloud, editing it, and checking it with readers, necessary adjustments were made to the text so that it gradually became more natural-sounding in the Avar language.
In addition to the translation of the Pentateuch’s text, the edition includes maps, genealogical charts, and a glossary of biblical terms in the Avar language.
IBT’s previously published Avar translations include: Proverbs (2005, 2007); the New Testament (2008); Genesis (2011); Ruth/Esther/Jonah (2017); 1-2 Samuel/1-2 Kings (2021); and the book of Daniel (2023). The editions are available in a variety of electronic formats on our website.