Leviticus supplied the biblical phrase engraved on the Liberty Bell.
The bell bears a shortened form of a verse from Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof.” The wording refers to the biblical Jubilee, a time when liberty and the restoration of property were proclaimed throughout the land.
The bell was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1751 and cast in London in 1752. It cracked soon after arriving in Philadelphia and was recast twice by local founders John Pass and John Stow. Their names appear on the bell.
The object was not originally called the Liberty Bell. That name became widely associated with it during the 1830s, when abolitionist groups adopted the bell as a symbol. The popular story that it rang to announce the Declaration of Independence's adoption is not supported by a contemporary account, although it may have rung during the public reading on July 8, 1776.