Leviticus is the biblical book quoted on the Liberty Bell in the United States.
The bell bears the inscription “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof,” adapted from Leviticus 25:10. The verse refers to the proclamation of liberty and the return of property during the biblical Jubilee year. Pennsylvania’s colonial assembly selected the wording for the bell commissioned in 1751.
The bell was cast in London by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and arrived in Philadelphia in 1752. It cracked during testing and was recast twice by local founders John Pass and John Stow. Their names and the year 1753 appear on the bell.
The Liberty Bell was originally called the State House Bell and served practical civic purposes, including summoning lawmakers. Its connection with independence became stronger over time. Although tradition says it rang when the Declaration was first read publicly on July 8, 1776, no contemporary record confirms that event.