The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised. IV. Yodh-Lamedh.

The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (DCHR) (2018-2028) is a complete revision in nine volumes, with over 100,000 improvements, of the original Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (DCH) (1993-2016). When completed, DCHR will be 5 million words in length (equivalent to 50 standard-size books), 25% longer than DCH, and 4 times the length of BDB and HALOT.

The fourth Volume of The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised, Yodh-Lamedh, arrives 27 [28 if 2026] years after the publication of the corresponding volume in the first edition (DCH) in 1998. It has taken 2 years particularly because of the publication of The Shorter Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (SDCHR) in 2025, which was always planned by David J.A. Clines (1938-2022) to appear in print before all nine volumes were produced, so that scholars might have access to the most essential elements of DCHR as soon as possible.

The present volume, DCHR IV, contains some 1557 words (lemmas), of which 573 are 'new words' (i.e. not in BDB); DCHR IV thus adds c. 60.4% to the number of words for Yodh-Lamedh that are to be found in BDB and other Hebrew dictionaries. DCHR IV also has some 40% more material than DCH IV, which consists of many thousands of additions and corrections, references to the multitude of Dead Sea Scrolls texts and inscriptions published since 1998, and a much expanded Bibliography. It is anticipated that the subsequent volumes of DCHR will be published at a somewhat swifter pace, with Volumes V to IX arriving by 2028, as well as The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised in 2026.

David J.A. Clines is Professor Emeritus of BIblical Studies at the University of Sheffield.