INAUGURAL BIBLES OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE USA
At the inauguration, most U.S. presidents swear with their hand on the Bible, although this is not officially required. It is a voluntary decision. This tradition began with George Washington (*1732; †1799), the first president of the United States, and has been adopted by other presidents (but not all). In recent years, this symbolic act has taken on significance as U.S. presidents seek to win over voters who come from Christianity. President Donald Trump, in particular, tried to get evangelicals on his side. However, it is unknown which Bibles the presidents used after George Washington until Abraham Lincoln (i.e., between 1793 to 1857), because most of them had their own family Bibles. Some presidents even swore by two Bibles, such as Harry S. Truman (1945-1953; Family Bible & Gutenberg Bible), Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961; Washington Bible & West Point Bible), Richard Nixon (1969-1974; two Family Bibles), George H. W. Bush (1989-1993; Washington Bible & Family Bible KJV), Barack Obama (2009-2017; Lincoln Bible & Bible of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and Donald Trump (2017-2021; Lincoln Bible & Family Bible, KJV). Other presidents did not use a Bible at all, such as John Quincy Adams (1825-1829), who took his oath on a law book, Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), or Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), who was sworn in on a Roman Catholic missal.
Five Bibles were used as the inaugural Bibles of the US Presidents, of which three are Protestant (KJV, States Bijbel, ASV) and two are Catholic (Gutenberg Bible, Douay-Rheims Bible). Some examples with the indication of the term of the presidents:
- King James Bible (KJV): George Washington (1789-1797), Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865), Warren G. Harding (1921-1923), Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961), Jimmy (James) E. Carter (1977-1981), Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), George H. W. Bush (1989-1993), Bill Clinton (1993–2001), George W. Bush (2001-2009), Barack Hussein Obama (2009-2017), Donald Trump (2017-2021). Of many presidents it is not handed down which Bible they had when they were sworn in, but it is considered certain that it was apparently always the KJV.
- Staaten Bijbel (Dutch): Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945)
- Douay–Rheims Bible: John F. Kennedy (1961-1963), Joe Biden (seit 2021)
- American Standard Version (ASV; West Point Bible): Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)
- Gutenberg Bible (Latin; but as facsimile, not original): Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
1. The King James Bible (KJV)
1.1 The Masonic Bible - The Washington Bible
George Washington (*1732; †1799) was the first President of the United States of America from 1789 to 1797. Upon assuming the office of President of the USA in 1789, Washington took the oath on the Masonic Bible of St. John's Lodge No. l of the State of New York (the oldest lodge in the city). The Bible was opened at random and the eye fell on Genesis 49:13.
St. John's Lodge carefully preserves the "The George Washington Inaugural Bible" and uses it at its meetings. It is a King James Bible (King James Version, KJV) with apocrypha printed in London in 1767 by Mark Baskett. It contains illustrations by the famous English artist John Stuart. The same Bible that Washington used is still used today in Masonic ceremonies.
The Grand Master of New York took his oath of office on this Washington Bible, as did Presidents Warren G. Harding (1921), Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953), Jimmy (James) E. Carter (1977) and George H. W. Bush (1989). Due to rain, this Bible could not be used at the inauguration of President George W. Bush (2001); a family Bible (KJV) was taken instead. In addition, the Bible was used in the funeral processions of Presidents George Washington (1799) and Abraham Lincoln (1865).
For both his 1981 and 1985 oaths of office, President Ronald Reagan (*1911; †2004) had not the George Washington Bible but a King James Bible (KJV) that belonged to his mother, Nelle Wilson Reagan. The ceremony was held in a small televised broadcast in 1985 due to weather and repeated the next day at the Capitol.
Bill Clinton (*1946) also had his own family Bible (KJV) in 1997. He was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. The photo below shows the inauguration on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 20, 1997 (second term as president).
During the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President on January 20, 2009, members of St. John's Lodge participated in a special ceremony in front of the statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall to honor the inauguration event. This went unnoticed before the public. Recently, a facsimile of the Bible was put on sale, the George Washington Inaugural Bible Replica. Just here is clearly visible the text that is on the cover of the book highlighting the Masonic organization:
“God shall establish; St. John’s Lodge constituted 5757 [A.D.1757]; Burnt down 8th March, 5770 [A.D. 1770]; Rebuilt and opened November 28th, 5770. Officers then presiding: Jonathan Hampton, Master: William Butler, Senior Warden: Isaac Heron, Junior Warden.”
To commemorate George Washington's inauguration on April 30, 1789, a page was added to the Bible with the following inscription:
“On this sacred volume, on the 30th day of April, A. L. 5789 [A.D. 1789], in the City of New York, was administered to George Washington, the first president of the United States of America, the oath to support the Constitution of the United States. This important ceremony was performed by the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, the Honorable Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State. Fame stretched her wings and with her trumpet blew. Great Washington is near. What praise is due? What title shall he have? She paused, and said ‘Not one – his name alone strikes every title dead.“
What is a Masonic Bible? The Freemasons have the same known translations used in Christian churches (mostly the KJV), but they add on the cover and in the Bible Masonic symbols (compass, protractor, pentagram, all-seeing eye, unicorn...) and some esoteric and occult signs. In private Bibles the respective degree of the owner is also inscribed. In today's Masonic Lodges, the Bible has no morally and dogmatically binding meaning, but only symbolic. So it was and is never about following Jesus Christ in the way of love and everybody can accept the religion he likes or even be an atheist. The Bible plays a role only in the temple equipment and in admission and installation ceremonies. For this purpose, some symbolic components were taken from the Bible into the ceremonies, such as the temple idea of King Solomon or the menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum of God (see Link). In lodges composed of different faith communities, other religious scriptures (Koran, Indian scriptures...) can be in use besides the Bible. In purely Islamic lodges, only the Koran is used.
In addition to the signs and symbols, long texts with numerous additions are often added to the Masonic Bible, in which, for example, the Masonic teachings and rites are explained in more detail. In them they call themselves "the sons of light". Mostly these Bibles are richly illustrated, but the biblical scenes are often provided with Masonic symbols, which many do not even notice (e.g. the position of the fingers). There are also often illustrations of George Washington in his Masonic attire. The special characteristic is also that there is a mixture between biblical and pagan teachings. Thus, various pagan teachings, legends, Egyptian gods and myths (such as of Ra, Isis and Osiris) are described in long texts and incorporated into the Bible. So, when the US presidents swear by the Bible, it does not mean that they want to go the way of God and follow Jesus Christ in the way of love, but that they are mainly guided by the additions of the Masonic teachings, which are binding for them. The Bible, on the other hand, has only a symbolic value. Christians must not be deceived by these public ceremonies, because God has a clear and uncomfortable warning to all who take or add anything from His Word:
- Dt 4:2: "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you."
- Dt 12:32: "Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it."
- Rev 22:18-19: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."
Possessing a Bible alone is of no use, for it itself says: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22). Often the Bible is used only to give a pious veneer to a ceremony and to pretend righteousness. The ceremonies devised by men do not interest God, already Jesus said, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mt 15:8-9). Jesus got to the heart of the matter and warned, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 7:21).
1.2 The Lincoln Bible
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (b. 1809; †1865) served as the 16th President of the United States of America from 1861 to 1865. Lincoln did not use the Washington Bible, but swore his oath during his inauguration in 1861 on the KJV, which was printed in London (Oxford University Press) in 1853 on 1,280 pages. It is (unlike the Bibles of the other presidents) a small handy edition (150x100x44mm). The title is "The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments." First elected in 1860, he succeeded in being re-elected for a second term in 1864. Lincoln was the first president from the ranks of the Republican Party and the first to fall victim to assassination.
The image below shows the opened page signed by the Clerk of the Supreme Court, William Thomas Carroll, attesting that the book was used for Lincoln's oath of office, and impressed with the seal of the Supreme Court. There are facsimiles of this Bible (see World Digital Library).
On January 20, 2009, the 44th U.S. President (from 2009 to 2017) Barack Hussein Obama (*1961) swore his oath of office not on the George Washington Inaugural Bible, but on the Lincoln Bible, symbolically referring to the end of slavery. He was thus the first president after Lincoln to do so. This Bible is kept in the Library of Congress in Washington. At the public oath to begin his second term in office on January 21, 2013, Barack Obama swore again to the Lincoln Bible as well as to the Bible of Dr. Martin Luther King (*1929; †1968; cf. Wikipedia).
President Donald Trump (*1946) also swore by the Lincoln Bible at his inauguration on January 20, 2017, in addition to the Bible his mother gave him in 1955 when he graduated from Presbyterian Sunday School.
2. The Dutch Staaten Bijbel 1686 (Roosevelt Bible)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (abbreviated FDR; *1882; †1945) was the 32nd President of the United States from March 4, 1933 until his death on April 12, 1945.He belonged to the Democratic Party.
Roosevelt took the oath not on the King James Bible, but on his Dutch family Bible, the Staaten-Bijbel (States Bible, Staatenvertaling) of 1686, printed in Amsterdam. Opened was 1 Corinthians 13. This was the oldest Bible ever used at an inauguration ceremony, and also the only one not written in English (with the exception of the Latin Gutenberg Bible of President Harry Truman, which, however, was only a facsimile). It was originally used by Roosevelt at his inaugurations in 1929 and 1931 as governor of New York and later at his three subsequent inaugurations as president. The Bible contains records of the Roosevelt family, originally from the Netherlands, dating from the early 18th century, but the title page is not present.
Dimensions of the Bible: closed: H 5 1/2 in x W 11 1/4 in x D 16 1/2 in (14 cm x 28.6 cm x 41.9 cm)
3. The Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible was translated by Catholics who fled to France from England and disagreed with the teachings of the Anglican Church. The New Testament was published in 1582 and the full Bible in 1609, so this was before the King James Bible (KJV) was published in 1611. The Catholic Bible was not translated into English from the basic Hebrew and Greek languages, but from Latin (Vulgate). It was the only English-language Bible officially recognized by the Catholic Church until the 20th century. The original edition of 1582/1609 shows the resurrection of Jesus on the "first Sabbath" or on the "first of the Sabbaths", whereas the revised version by the English bishop Richard Challoner (*1691; †1781) speaks of the "first day of the week" (see English prints 1).
John F. Kennedy (John Fitzgerald Kennedy; *1917; †1963), the first Catholic elected to the White House, chose a Douay Bible from his mother's family estate, which is therefore called the "Fitzgerald Family Bible." At his inauguration as the 35th and youngest president of the USA, his family Bible was on the podium (see photo below; source). It is a Haydock edition from 1850. George Leo Haydock (*1774; †1849) was a minister and biblical scholar. His 1811 edition of the Douay Bible with extended church commentary became the most popular 19th-century English Catholic Bible on both sides of the Atlantic. Title:
"The Holy Bible with Old Testament first published at Douay 1609, and the New Testament first published at Rheims 1582, with notes by the late Reverend George Leo Haydock, and revision by the Very Rev. F. C. Husenbeth, D. D. Vicar General in the Eastern District of England."
The Bible was brought to the United States from Ireland by Kennedy's ancestors. The title page contains a handwritten family chronicle from 1857. These notes document the engagement of his parents (Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose E. Fitzgerald), their marriage in 1914, and a list of their nine children, including a record of the birth of John F. Kennedy on May 29, 1917.
On January 20, 2021, Joe Robinette Biden Jr. (Joseph R. Biden; *1942) was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. On that occasion, Biden took his oath on a Catholic Bible that has been in the possession of his Irish-American family since 1893 (i.e., about 130 years). It is again the Douay-Rheims edition revised by the English bishop Richard Challoner (*1691; †1781), supplemented by George Haydock (*1774; †1849) with a substantially expanded commentary and includes information about popes. On the front, the Bible is decorated with an Irish Celtic cross and is just under 13 cm thick overall. In the English-language media, it has also been referred to as the Masonic Illuminati Bible because it contains various Masonic symbols on the cover, in the textual content, and in the illustrations. Moreover, on January 20, 2009, when Biden was sworn in as vice president during Barack Obama's term, the cross was turned upside down, which some considered a symbol of mocking Jesus. Others spoke of coincidence. In 2021, the cross was correctly positioned. Also during President Obama's second term, Joe Biden Jr. was again sworn in as vice president on Jan. 20, 2013, with his left hand on the Bible.
During Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021, Catholic and Jesuit Leo O'Donovan (*1934; president of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.), delivered the official speech. Much to the Pope's delight, Jesuits and Masonic Catholics will now determine U.S. policy.
Bibles of the type owned by Joe Biden's family were produced between 1870 and 1890 and were very expensive at the time, especially when brought to the United States. Because of the mystical symbols used, this edition was also called the "Haydock Illuminati Douay Rheims Bible". The illustrations shown here are of a comparable Haydock Douay-Rheims Bible from 1883. These Bibles contain not only the text of the Bible, but also Catholic teachings and numerous portraits of popes. There are also Freemason signs and images of Mary in support of the worship of the dead (Mary and deceased saints).
Unlike the plain edition that President John F. Kennedy owned, Joseph Biden's Bible has several Masonic symbols in the cover of the book. These include the "Eye of Providence" (or the all-seeing eye of God), an eye surrounded by a halo of rays, usually enclosed by a triangle. In 1782, the Eye of Providence became part of the symbolism on the reverse of the Seal of the United States. The coat of arms is also used on documents of the United States. Also, the "all-seeing eye of God" is on the back of the one-dollar bill (see Wikipedia).
In early Egyptian mythology there was the sun's eye of the sun god Re (Ra) and the eye of Horus (god of war and light). Horus was considered the son of Isis and Osiris (the god of the dead). Isis was often depicted on images and statutes with the baby (or divine child) Horus, she was the so-called "Mother God with the child in her arms". Under the keywords "Isis and Horus" there are thousands of historical images and figures in the literature and on the Internet. Some Christians also inform about the connections between the pagan myths and the illustrations and sculptures in the Catholic Church. Many pass by these signs and figures for years without knowing what the real spiritual background is. The Catholic Church has dared to remove the second of God's Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) in its prayer books and services, and to divide the last commandment (of desire) in its place, in order to get back to the desired number 10. Even the Catholic Bible says that God forbids the making of any images; this was true at the time of the Old and New Testaments. The following is a quote from the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA):
Ex 20:4-5: (DRA): "Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."
Note: The underlying Hebrew text mens "an idol/image or any likeness", it includes all areas like painted pictures, signs, symbols and figures or statutes.
Ex 20:4-5 (ESV): “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."
The upside-down cross is certainly not a good symbol for a religious leader to show himself with, either. The Catholic Church does insist that it refers to the cross of Peter, who, according to legend, was nailed upside down to the cross; but doesn't it make much more sense to commemorate the cross of Jesus? And such a symbol offers room for misunderstanding, because the Catholic Church itself writes: "In the Christian cultural circle, the upside-down cross is often regarded as a sign of the negation of Christianity or as a satanic sign" (kath.net). In the black metal scene, among occultists and among Satanists it means the mockery and rejection of Jesus. And even Wikipedia writes: "In modern times, the inverted cross, detached from Christian tradition, is often interpreted as a reversal of Christian values or as a mockery or rejection of the churches as organizations or of Christianity itself, for example in the environment of modern occultism, especially in Satanism" (tanslated).
4. West Point Bible - American Standard Version (ASV)
The 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower (*1890; †1969) used two Bibles at the first inauguration in 1953, the George Washington Bible and the West Point Bible (American Standard Version, ASV), which was given to D. Eisenhower in 1915.
When he took office for the second time in 1957, only the West Point Bible came into use. Opened was Psalm 33:12, which speaks of a nation being blessed when it follows God.
(Source Photo: History.com)
5. The Gutenberg Bible
On January 20, 1949, Harry S. Truman (*1884; †1972) used, in addition to a private Bible, a reproduction of the Latin (Catholic) Gutenberg Bible given to him by the Citizens of Independence. The Gutenberg Bible is the world's first book printed with movable type. It was produced between 1452 and 1454 in Johannes Gutenberg's printing workshop in Mainz (Germany). In terms of content, it is nothing other than the Latin Vulgate, the first official translation of the Bible by the Catholic Church, dating from 382 AD and commissioned by Pope Damasus from the "Church Father Jerome".
The Vulgate was the main Bible of Christianity for about 1,300 years, since translations into other languages were forbidden and punished by many popes. In the chapter on historical Bibles, links to original facsimiles of the Holy Scriptures in several languages are provided for free download.
The Vulgate taught the resurrection of Jesus "on a Sabbath" (una sabbati), so there were many medieval Catholic Bibles translated into other languages that spoke of either the Sabbath resurrection of Jesus or the coming of the women to the tomb on a Saturday morning (more info). (Photo source Ebay, Link2)
Sources: Photos of the Presidents: Link1, Link2, Link3, Link4, Link5, Link6, Link7, Link8, Link9, Link10, GettyImages
List of 46 Presidents of the United States of America
The following table shows the 46 presidents of the USA and their terms of office. An overview of the bibles used can be found on the website of Archive: Bibles Used in Inaugural Ceremonies
Source: Wikipedia
46. Joe Biden since 2021
45. Donald J. Trump 2017-2021
44. Barack Obama 2009–2017
43. George W. Bush 2001–2009
42. William J. Clinton 1993–2001
41. George H. W. Bush 1989–1993
40. Ronald Reagan 1981–1989
39. Jimmy Carter 1977–1981
38. Gerald Ford 1974–1977
37. Richard Nixon 1969–1974
36. Lyndon Johnson 1963–1969
35. John F. Kennedy 1961–1963
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1961
33. Harry S. Truman 1945–1953
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933–1945
31. Herbert Hoover 1929–1933
30. Calvin Coolidge 1923–1929
29. Warren Harding 1921–1923
28. Woodrow Wilson 1913–1921
27. William H. Taft 1909–1913
26. Theodore Roosevelt 1901–1909
25. William McKinley 1897–1901
24. Grover Cleveland 1893–1897
23. Benjamin Harrison 1889–1893
22. Grover Cleveland 1885–1889
21. Chester Arthur 1881–1885
20. James Garfield 1881
19. Rutherford B. Hayes 1877–1881
18. Ulysses S. Grant 1869–1877
17. Andrew Johnson 1865–1869
16. Abraham Lincoln 1861–1865
15. James Buchanan 1857–1861
14. Franklin Pierce 1853–1857
13. Millard Fillmore 1850–1853
12. Zachary Taylor 1849–1850
11. James Polk 1845–1849
10. John Tyler 1841–1845
9. William Henry Harrison 1841
8. Martin Van Buren 1837–1841
7. Andrew Jackson 1829–1837
6. John Quincy Adams 1825–1829
5. James Monroe 1817–1825
4. James Madison 1809–1817
3. Thomas Jefferson 1801–1809
2. John Adams 1797–1801
1. George Washington 1789–1797
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them"
(Eph 5:11)
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