@Nathaniel Yes, that's pretty simple concerning NTG alone. But for classical Greek, I think we're happy to accept interpretation, translation, and other, comparable to NT exegesis. Or are we?

That different eras of Greek have different scope limitations makes it a little hairy.

It seems to me that a Greek question is fine as long as it satisfies one of the following:

1. The question concerns Greek up to the end of classical antiquity (fall of Western Roman Empire in AD 476), excluding New Testament Greek.

2. The question concerns New Testament Greek. Such questions should be about the language, either in itself or in comparison to earlier (OR LATER?) Greek. Questions about translation, meaning, and other such matters regarding the New Testament should be taken somewhere else. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a good option.

3. The question compares Greek with Latin. As Latin is our main topic, any question with a significant Latin component is on-topic.

Yeah I see the difficulty. One's invalid interpretation of Homer is less likely to a ruckus. But, on the other hand, we haven't specified any special limitations on the Latin Vulgate, and that's considered authoritative by quite a few Christians.

@Nathaniel True! It didn't occur to me that Latin would be the same in that respect.

So should it be formulated so that Greek up to NT and all Latin are fine, but purely exegetic questions are off-topic?

Let me see how BH words their scope

Would it be fair to say that questions should be about language, not about Christianity (and that there are other sites for Christianity)? That would make us treat Christianity different from other types of religion or thought.

Maybe something like "Questions focusing on the exegesis or interpretation of a biblical text, rather than the language itself, are usually better suited for other sites, like Biblical Hermeneutics or Christianity"

I wouldn't necessary want to call out Christianity, because the Bible has some weight in other systems of thought too (like Islam)

@Nathaniel That sounds good. Is "usually better suited for other sites" strong enough? Or does it even have to be strict and clear?

@Nathaniel Good point! It's about Greek and Latin as the languages of the Bible, not as languages of Christianity.

I could probably be persuaded to be more strict, but since "interpretation" is rather vague, I'm hesitant to put a blanket ban on it. I'd like to see if we get any "controversial" questions, and if so, if there are clean ways to distinguish them from more run of the mill language questions.

Yeah, it's probably best to decide on details as the need arises. I think I prefer a strict policy, but I don't want to decide before I know what it means, and I can only know through examples.

Right. To some extent, even basic language questions (vocabulary, grammar, etc.) can have exegetical implications, but once we get some examples perhaps a "policy" will be more clear.

I find myself balancing between civil law and common law. This was unexpected.

And we can keep in touch with the BH community in particular to work out where the line between our sites should lie

@Nathaniel There doesn't necessarily have to be a well defined line. There need not be a unique home for each question.

Also true

@Nathaniel True. And I wouldn't want to have people completely avoid interpretation. Of course questions can be motivated by interpretation, and exegesis can provide important context. Perhaps "better focus on language on this site" works better than a ban.

Sounds good. So to answer your question... yes I think it's fine to post a proposed "policy" for further discussion on meta ;)

@Nathaniel Here we go.

I should go (or have gone) to bed. Feel free to edit the post!

I think I'd make it featured, but not before everything is set.

@ktm5124 How does the proposed description look to you?

Valete!

@JoonasIlmavirta Looks like a great start; thanks!

@JoonasIlmavirta I read, I approved, I upvoted.

@Nathaniel Thanks!

I will remove the "in progress" text and replace it with an "in effect" text in a day or two if there is no strong opposition.

I edited the help pages, tour, and the Greek tag descriptions. Feel free to make further edits.

@ktm5124 Excellent! I hope others will approve of it too.

@Cerberus What do you think about the Greek policy just posted on meta? I don't want to mark it as "official and in effect" before all mods agree.