The biblical book cited in the Liberty Bell’s inscription is Leviticus.
The inscription includes the words “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof” and then cites “Lev. XXV. v X.” That reference points to Leviticus 25:10, a verse about proclaiming liberty throughout the land.
The bell was commissioned in 1751 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and arrived in Philadelphia in 1752. It cracked during an early test and was recast twice by local founders John Pass and John Stow. Their names appear on the bell beneath the inscription.
The object was originally called the State House Bell, not the Liberty Bell. Abolitionist groups popularized the name in the nineteenth century, giving the bell a broader association with freedom. Although legend says it rang on July 4, 1776, evidence more strongly connects it with Philadelphia’s public reading of the Declaration on July 8.