Chronology and dating

Biblical information
No AD and BC (absolute dates)
Relative dating; 1 Kings 14:21
How many years passed
from the death of king Ahab
to the ascension of Jehu son of
Nimshi on the throne at
Samaria?
 Ahaziah starts

Ahab dies

Jehoram (Israel) starts Ahaziah dies

Hence: at least 12 years 12 years: 2 Kings 3:1

Jehu kills Jehoram and ascends the throne

I [Shalmaneser III, Emperor of Assyria] approached Karkar. I destroyed, tore down,
and bound Karkara, the king of Hamaths royal residence. He brought along to help
him 1200 chariots, 1200 cavalrymen, 20,000 foot soldiers belonging to
[Benhadad I] of Damascus, ..., 2000 chariots, 10,000 foot soldiers belonging to
Ahab the Israelite. Kirkuk Stele. From Assyrian eponyms: 853 BC

I, [Shalmaneser III, Emperor of Assyria] exacted tribute

from Jehu. Black Obelisk 841 BC
12 years!
 Ahaziah starts

Ahab resists Shalmaneser III (853)

Ahab dies

Jehoram (Israel) starts Ahaziah dies

Only 12 years!

Hence: at least 12 years 12 years: 2 Kings 3:1

Jehu kills Jehoram and ascends the throne

Jehu gives tribute to Shalmaneser III (841)

Conclusion: Ahabs death in 853; Jehu began reign in 841

 The fall of Samaria
On the twenty-fifth day of the month of Tebet
Shalmaneser (V) ascended the throne in Assyria
and Babylonia. He ravaged Samaria.
Babylonian Chronicles I.i.28

At the beginning of my royal rule, Ithe

town of the Samarians I besieged,
conquered (2 Lines destroyed) [for the
god] who let me achieve this my triumph
I led away as prisoners [27,290 inhabitants
of it (and) equipped from among them
(soldiers to man)] 50 chariots for my royal
corps The town I rebuilt better than it was
before and settled therein people from
countries which I had conquered. A.G. Lie,
The inscriptions of Sargon II, King of Assyria,
Part 1

2 Kings 17:1-6, 24

From the eponyms: 722 BC

Babylonian Chronicles
Jerusalem Chronicle
Number ABC -5
 "The king of Babylon [Nebuchadnezzar]
mustered his troops, marching towards
the land of the Hittites, and encamped
against the city of Judah...besieged the
city and captured the king. He appointed
there a king of his own choice,
received its heavy tribute and
sent the citizens to Babylon 597 BC

2 Kings 24:11-12, 16-17

Hence, Jehoiachins reign ended in 597 BC

 Problems
Rounding off
Coregencies
 Synchronization
Jehoiakim begins reign: 609 BC

4 years: Jeremiah 46:2

Battle of Carchemish: 605 BC

12 years: 2 Ki 23:36 Agrees with Babylonian chronicles

Jehoiakim ends reign: 597 BC

 Lets calculate some dates
Ahab 22
Omri 6
Zimri 0
Elah 2
Baasha 24
Nadab 2
Jeroboam 22
Total:- 78

Conclusion: Kingdom divided in 853 + 78 = 931 BC

 Approximate Dates
Person/Event Date (BC)
Esther 500
David 1000
Moses 1500
Abraham 2000
Noahs Flood 2400
Creation 4000

According to the Bible, the world/universe began only 6000 years ago!
 A Big Disagreement

Biblical time frames v/s secular

6000 years v/s 14 billion years or

4.5 billion years
Secular dating
 For uniform rates

Initial amount Final amount

Time = ______________________________________________________

Rate
 Radioactivity

Uranium Lead
 Radioactivity

Half-life T of a material can be measured once and for all

Hence if present amount A and initial amount A0 are known,
The time t can be found.
 Assumptions
There was no contamination
We know the initial amount
The decay constant (or half-life) truly
remained constant (uniformitarianism)
We know the decay constant accurately for
large extrapolation
 Mt Ngauruhow, New Zealand erupted on June 30, 1954

Samples given to Geochron Laboratories in Cambridge, Boston (USA),

for whole-rock potassium-argon (KAr) dating

Results: rocks were dated between 0.27 and 3.5 million years old
Radio halos
 Radio halos
Tracks left by alpha particles
Abundance of radio halos shows that billions
of years worth of radioactive decay has
taken place
 Zircons
Helium (alpha particles) retention in zircons
unexpectedly high
Suggests that at some time in the past, the
decay took place at an accelerated rate
 Feldspar
Argon (K-Ar) retention in feldspars
unexpectedly high
Suggests accelerated decay
 What causes accelerated decay?
Very high temperature
Atom is stripped of electrons while decaying
 Conclusions: radioactive dating
It involves unverifiable assumptions
Radio halos show that billions of years
worth decay has taken place
But helium retention shows that this decay did
not take place over billions of years but only
thousands of years
Therefore, radioactive decay should not be
used to discredit Biblical chronology
 Starlight and time
Starlight from more than 6000 light-years
away is reaching the earth
Einsteins theory of general relativity: time is
relative
Genesis 1 is written from the earth frame
Billions of years could have elapsed as seen
from other stars
Evidence for a young earth
Galaxies
Still spiral
Too few
Supernova
remnants
Too many comets still left
Not enough salt in the sea
Earths magnetic field is still too strong
Moon still near us:
It is receding at the rate of 1 mile every 42,000 years