Dictionary of Classical Hebrew v 1

The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (DCH) under the general editorship of David J. A. Clines is by now no stranger to Hebrew lexicographers and OT scholars alike. The work has been steadily appearing since 1993 with four of a projected eight volumes presently available, covering the letters aleph to lamed. No less than 35 separate reviews of the dictionary have appeared, including a major review by F. I. Andersen with a response by Clines and further response by Andersen (AusBR 43 [1995]: 50-71). Also among these are five reviewers who have made additional comments as further volumes of the Dictionary have appeared. The Dictionary has been variously praised as a 'truly momentous event' and the end of a 'hundred year famine since BDB in the English-speaking world.' On the other hand, it has been severely criticized, some of its principles being labeled 'a mistake,' 'patently false,' and 'a mirage.' At any rate, DCH has been widely and successfully received, judging from the comments in the editor's preface to vols. 3 and 4 alluding to 'a very large number of subscribers' (p. 8) and the 'extraordinarily positive and enthusiastic' response of the scholarly public (p. 9). Volume 5 is due to appear early in 2001.