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I was reading some history about the Second Temple and how Herod renovated it, to much acclaim of many people (even though G'd told David not to build His temple because of all the blood he had shed in wars 1 Chronicles 22:8). Reportedly, Herod started the renovations out of penance for murdering rabbis, which makes me wonder, did he stop killing people after he started renovating the Temple? (I edited the question in response to the comment of Harel13)

Thanks in advance for your answer or participation.

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    Welcome to Mi Yodeya! Great to have you here with us.
    – Harel13
    Commented Oct 30, 2021 at 18:47
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    According to an archeologist I met recently, Herod's renovations weren't completed in his lifetime, so I guess technically he never killed anyone else after the renovations (because he was dead by then). During the renovations, now that's another question...
    – Harel13
    Commented Oct 30, 2021 at 19:26
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    @harel13 Thanks for the welcome. I modified the question per your comment.
    – freethinker36
    Commented Oct 31, 2021 at 2:27

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The fact that the Talmud (Bava Batra 4a) tells us that the sages advised him to renovate the temple in penance for killing rabbis would imply that, at the minimum, he stopped killing the sages before he renovated it.

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  • How unbiased were those sages in what they wrote, specially if Herod killed the others? Were they living under the jurisdiction of Herod? How did their writing make it to the Talmud? Why was their writing selected to be used in the Talmud and not other rabbis' writings? So many questions.
    – freethinker36
    Commented Oct 29, 2021 at 22:21
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    The Gemora says he regretted killing RABBIS. Not that he regretted his acts of murder in general
    – Schmerel
    Commented Oct 31, 2021 at 15:28
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    Freethinker: So many questions. .. All which seem rhetorical so I won't answer any. But I will comment that the questions indicate a lack of even basic rudimentary knowledge about the Talmud.
    – Schmerel
    Commented Oct 31, 2021 at 15:31
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    @freethinker36 The sages who recorded the Talmud lived long after the fall of Herod's dynasty. In addition, the Talmud was not written for non-Jewish audiences, and I doubt non-Jews of that era had any access to it.
    – N.T.
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 6:22
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    freethinker36: I'm sorry. Based on you name and nature of the questions I thought they were rhetorical. to answer them (1) No bias at all (2)Herod was dead for hundreds of years when they wrote it and they didn't even live in the same country as him (3&4) although the Talmud had two main editors what was included was mostly decided by a universal rabbinic consensus but it is beyond the scope of a comment to answer those questions
    – Schmerel
    Commented Nov 1, 2021 at 12:29

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