The approximate 6000-year figure frequently cited as the Biblical age for the Earth is commonly criticized by those wanting to accept both the Bible and an old Earth. The claim is often made that nowhere does the Bible actually state that the Earth is 6000 years old. They then attack the chronological calculations that lead to this figure. So ultimately, the question of this article and what does the Bible say about the age of the earth and does that lead to a figure of about 6000 years?
A common argument used to attack the idea the Bible teaches that the earth is about 6000 years old is to point out that there is no one place in the Bible where it is stated. However, not only would we not expect to see that exact figure in the Bible, but it requires completely ignoring the evidence that we do find in the Bible.
Because the last book of the Bible was written in the 1st century AD it would be erroneous to expect to find a passage that claims that the earth is 6,000 years old because that is the current age. If Jesus himself had stated an age for the earth at the time of his ministry, it would have been about 4,000 years. If David had mentioned it in a psalm, it would have been about 3,000 years. The simple fact of the matter is that those making this claim are just looking for an excuse.
The simple fact of matter is that the Biblical age of the earth is derived by its chronology not a clear statement of an age. There is sufficient information in the Bible to start with creation and calculate the age of the Earth based on other chronological information such as genealogies, that it is possible to estimate the age of the Earth based on historically established dates.
They will frequently attack the work of James Usher which is the most famous estimate of the age of the earth based on Biblical chronology. They will do so based mainly on the fact that he did go overboard and his precision by basing some precise dates on the times the Jewish feasts and the like. If you actually read his work his reasoning does make sense regardless of its accuracy.
Such attacks often ignore the fact that many other people have run the same calculations and have gotten at least within a few hundred years to the same result. Furthermore, these calculations can be run by anybody with a Bible and a little bit of extra-Biblical historical information. The ultimate form that this attack takes is simply to accuse you of taking passages such as genealogies too literally.
Ultimately, these arguments are not looking for the truth but rather they are looking for an excuse to not accept the clear teaching a Biblical chronology. The reason for this is that they want to be able to accept the old ages for the Earth and the universe that are based on atheistic presuppositions. The funny thing is that while they claim the dates they accept are scientific, they ignore scientific evidence that goes against those ages and supports the Biblical account.
Annals of the World - https://amzn.to/3YKlSml