This companion provides an excellent overview of the Christian interpretation and reception of the Song of Songs from late antiquity to roughly 1800, as well as a brief epilogue by Arthur Holder discussing more recent reception. The companion contains articles by many of the leading scholars in the field of Song of Songs interpretation, as well as some rising scholars. The authors do a great job of walking the tightrope between providing a mere survey and providing an enlightening examination of a particular theme. This volume is noteworthy for discussing aspects of Song of Songs exegesis that are often left out of scholarly narratives in Christian history, providing chapters relating to the erasure of women in ancient and medieval Jewish interpretation of the Song (Jason Kalman), women who interpreted the Song of Songs in the Middle Ages (Bernard McGinn), and interpretation of the Song through visual art (Rabia Gregory), in addition to more standard elements of the history of the spirituality of the Song.

Some limitations of the volume are worth mentioning as the exceptions that prove the rule of its broad scope. While the chapter on Jewish interpretation was quite substantial, a couple more chapters on Jewish interpretation of the Song of Songs might have provided readers with a broader entry into Jewish reception of the Song. Also, due in part to the great influence of the Song in the Middle Ages, the majority of the chapters focus on that time period, leaving the reader interested in learning more about its place in the early modern period, though the editor does take care to include chapters relating to this period as well.

Particularly interesting for bridging the gap between the Middle Ages and modernity is Ann W. Astell's chapter, “The Song of Songs in Aelred of Rievaulx's Liturgical Preaching,” which analyzes the almost utter disappearance of the Song of Songs from modern Christian lectionaries and preaching, pointing to Aelred of Rievaulx as a model of “preaching ‘from’ the Song,” which can overcome the difficulties attendant on preaching about the Song of Songs in modernity (162). This volume will serve as an excellent resource both to those seeking an introduction to the reception of the Song of Songs and those who are intimately familiar with its reception.