THEONYMS OF THE OSSETIAN LANGUAGE: NAMES OF GOD IN PRAYER AND BIBLICAL TRANSLATION


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Home Editorial board Publication ethics Information Current Archive Rules for authors Contacts	THEONYMS OF THE OSSETIAN LANGUAGE: NAMES OF GOD IN PRAYER AND BIBLICAL TRANSLATION Edzieva, Naira T. Kavkaz Forum. 2026. Issue 26. Abstract: This article analyzes the theonyms of the Ossetian language, in particular, the names of God, which represent a specific and coherent system. The majority of the Creator’s names are commonly used in Ossetian ritual prayers, as their primary purpose is to praise God at the beginning of the prayer, directly through an address, before making any requests. Through a comparative analysis, the article demonstrates how the theonyms of the Ossetian language function within the cultural and linguistic context of the Bible. The names of God in the Ossetian language are closely related to the word «Khuytsau» (God). At the same time, they can also be used independently, without the word «Khuytsau.» As for the fixed expression «Khuytsæutty Khuytsau» (God of Gods), it is more accurate to write the first part with a small letter, as the word «Khuytsæutty» does not indicate that the Creator God in Ossetian religious culture is the head of the divine pantheon. The stable expression «Khuytsæutty Khuytsau» cannot be analyzed in isolation from other names of God, which often include the word «One.» Fragments of Ossetian prayer books and biblical texts are used as practical material in the article. An important biblical term is also analyzed – «Holy Spirit», which is the name of the third hypostasis of the Holy Trinity in the Bible. The author analyzes the expression «Khuytsæy nom aryn» (lit. «to find the name of God»), which is used in the Bible to translate the phrase «to call on the name of the Lord.» The article briefly discusses the influence of earlier translation terminology used in certain editions of the New Testament on the choice of theonyms in the publication of the complete version of the modern Ossetian translation of the Bible. Keywords: theonym, names of God, prayer, epithet, term, translation, language. Language: Russian Download the full text For citation: Edzieva, N.T. Theonyms of the Ossetian language: names of God in prayer and biblical translation. KAVKAZ-FORUM. 2026, iss. 26 (33), pp. 52-62. (In Russian). + References 1. Abaev, V.I. Istoriko-ehtimologicheskii slovar’ osetinskogo yazyka [Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language]. Moscow, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1989, vol. IV. 449 p. 2. Barabanov, O.N. 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Moscow, Rossiiskoe Bibleiskoe Obshchestvo, Institut perevoda Biblii, 2022. 1152 p. (in Ossetian). 9. Bibliya: knigi Svyashchennogo Pisaniya Vetkhogo i Novogo Zaveta. Kanonicheskie [The Bible: The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The Canonical Books]. Moscow, Rossiiskoe Bibleiskoe Obshchestvo, 2014. 1240 p. 10. Khamitsaeva, T.A. (comp.). Pamyatniki narodnogo tvorchestva osetin [Monuments of Ossetian folk art]. Vladikavkaz, Ir, 1992, vol. 1. 440 p. 11. Darchiev, A.V. Rannii pamyatnik osetinskogo yazyka: tekst molitvosloviya pervoi treti ХIХ veka [An Early Monument of the Ossetian Language: A Prayer Text from the First Third of the 19th Century]. Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki [Philology. Theory and Practice]. 2013, no. 5 (23): in 2 parts, part 1, pp. 47–58. 12. Dzadziev, A.B., Dzutsev, Kh.V., Karaev, S.M. Ehtnografiya i mifologiya osetin: Kratkii slovar’ [Ethnography and Mythology of the Ossetians: A Short Dictionary]. Vladikavkaz, [b. i.], 1994. 284 p. 13. Tsgoev, Kh.F. Slovar’ osetinskoi mifologii i uklada zhizni [Dictionary of Ossetian mythology and way of life]. 2nd ed., corrected and enlarged. Vladikavkaz, North Ossetian Institute for Humanitarian and Social Studies, 2017. 753 p. 14. Sokaeva, D.V. Osetinskaya traditsionnaya molitva: kharakteristika zhanra [Ossetian Traditional Prayer: Characteristics of the Genre]. Materialy IV Vserossiiskii kongress fol’kloristov (Tula, 01–05 marta 2018 g.) [Proceedings of the IV All-Russian Congress of Folklorists (Tula, March 1–5, 2018)]. Moscow, Gosudarstvennyi Rossiiskii Dom narodnogo tvorchestva imeni V.D. Polenova, 2019, pp. 351–357. ← Contents of issue


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