The fourth edition of the standard work, expanded and updated with a large chapter on the Jewish Enlightenment, provides access to the complete works of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and enriches the current understanding of Lessing with a wealth of interpretations. The handbook offers research papers and analyses on the current state for each work and each group of works. In addition to new insights into the interconnections between Lessing's work and the anthropological and philosophical questions of the Enlightenment, the reference to contemporary historical events is also clarified.