Tagging Guidelines
Purpose
Authoritative reference for tagging content in the Torah Garden vault. Read this before adding tags to any file. The goal is a vocabulary dense enough to enable discovery without being so broad it loses meaning.
Philosophy
Tags in this vault serve discovery, not organization.
A tag is not a label that describes what a file is about. It is a navigational node that connects a reader to every other file on the same topic. A tag only earns its place if it can answer: “If someone clicked this tag, what would they want to find?”
A tag that appears on only one file helps no one navigate. A tag that appears on 40 files becomes a genuine entry point into the vault’s content.
The Test
Before adding a tag, ask: “Does this word appear meaningfully in at least 3-5 other files I know about?” If not, look for a broader term in the Tag Vocabulary that captures the same idea.
Two-Tier Taxonomy
The vault uses two kinds of tags that serve different purposes. Both are valid; neither should crowd out the other.
Canonical Tags
- Defined in
About/Tags/with a full reference file - Controlled vocabulary - approximately 80 approved terms
- Stable: new canonical tags require a new definition file
- Used to mark major theological themes, source designations, and content types
- Examples:
covenant,j-source,priesthood,patriarch
Contextual Tags
- Flexible, no definition file required
- Used for specific topics that recur in a cluster of related files
- Max 6 per file (if you need more, you’re labeling, not tagging)
- Should still follow naming conventions (lowercase, hyphen-separated)
- Examples:
wilderness-generation,number-symbolism,ancestral-religion
Singleton Discipline
Before creating a new contextual tag, check the Tag Vocabulary for an existing term. If your idea doesn’t fit any existing canonical tag, ask whether it will appear in at least 3 other files. If not, either use a broader canonical term or omit the tag entirely.
Naming Conventions
All tags - canonical and contextual - follow these rules:
| Rule | Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|
| Lowercase only | covenant | Covenant |
| Hyphens, not spaces or underscores | divine-name | divine name, divine_name |
| English | priesthood | kehunah |
| Maximum 3 words | holy-of-holies | most-holy-place-in-the-tabernacle |
| Prefer nouns over adjectives | priesthood not priestly | |
| Singular preferred | genealogy not genealogies |
Section-Specific Rules
Books/
Every chapter analysis file should carry 3-6 tags.
Required pattern:
- 1-2 source tags if the chapter has a clear source attribution:
j-source,p-source,e-source,d-source - 2-4 thematic tags drawn from canonical themes:
covenant,creation,holiness, etc. - 1 passage type tag:
chapter-analysis,verse-study,commentary, oroverview
Example - Genesis 1 analysis:
tags: [creation, p-source, sabbath, chapter-analysis]Example - Leviticus 16 (Day of Atonement) analysis:
tags: [sacrifice, holiness, priesthood, p-source, chapter-analysis]Book-level index and overview files should carry at minimum:
tags: [overview]Atlas/Divine-Names/
Every Divine Names file must carry:
divine-name(always)- The relevant source tag if the name is associated with a specific source:
j-source,p-source, etc.
Example - YHWH file:
tags: [divine-name, j-source, covenant]Example - Elohim file:
tags: [divine-name, p-source, creation]Atlas Metadata Bridge
Atlas files already use rich structured frontmatter (
type:,category:,hebrew:,dh_source:). Thetags:field is not a replacement - it is a bridge to the tag graph. Keep the existing metadata and add a minimal tags field alongside it.
Atlas/People/
Every People file must carry:
- At least one role tag from the controlled list:
patriarch,prophet,priest,king,judge,levite,woman,foreigner
Additional thematic tags as relevant: covenant, exodus, sacrifice, etc.
Example - Abraham file:
tags: [patriarch, covenant]Example - Moses file:
tags: [prophet, exodus, covenant, law]Example - Miriam file:
tags: [prophet, woman, exodus]Example - Pharaoh file:
tags: [king, foreigner, exodus]Atlas/Places/
Every Places file must carry:
- At least one geography type tag from the controlled list:
mountain,city,wilderness,river,region,sanctuary
Additional thematic tags as relevant.
Example - Mount Sinai file:
tags: [mountain, sanctuary, covenant, exodus]Example - Egypt file:
tags: [region, exodus]Example - Eden file:
tags: [region, creation, fall]Research/
Every Research file must carry:
methodology(always, marks scholarly apparatus)- Subject tags identifying what the research is about
Example - theonomastics study:
tags: [methodology, divine-name, documentary-hypothesis]Example - source analysis study:
tags: [methodology, j-source, p-source, chapter-analysis]About/Tags/
The tag definition files in this directory should themselves carry:
tags: [methodology]This is corrective: the canonical definitions were untagged at the time of the Tagging Audit.
Tag Count Limits
| File type | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter analysis (Books/) | 3 | 6 |
| Atlas entry | 1 | 4 |
| Research file | 2 | 5 |
| Tag definition (About/Tags/) | 1 | 2 |
| Overview / index | 1 | 3 |
These are soft limits. Going over by one for a genuinely complex file is acceptable. Going over consistently signals that you are labeling, not tagging - pull back to canonical terms.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't coin a tag for one file's argument
covenantal-framework-for-legal-systemsdescribes what one essay says. It will never appear on another file. Usecovenantandlawinstead.
Don't use tags as metadata
Atlas files already have
category: patriarch. Do not duplicate this astag: patriarch-category. The tags field should add navigational value, not echo existing metadata.
Don't mix languages
All tags are English. Hebrew terms belong in the
hebrew:frontmatter field, not in tags.
Don't skip section rules
If you are adding an Atlas/People file, it must have a role tag. There are no optional tags in the section-specific rules - those are the minimum floor.
Quick Reference: Adding Tags to a New File
- Identify the section: Books/, Atlas/People/, Atlas/Places/, Atlas/Divine-Names/, Research/, About/Tags/
- Apply the section minimum (see rules above)
- Open Tag Vocabulary and scan the relevant categories for additional terms
- Check: is every tag I’m using in the vocabulary? If not, is it a known contextual tag I’ve seen elsewhere in the vault?
- Check: do I have more than 6 tags? If so, remove the most specific ones and keep the broadest
- Write the tags in alphabetical order (cosmetic preference, aids consistency)
Part of the Tags collection | About Portal