The George Washington Inaugural Bible is the Bible that was sworn upon by George Washington when he took office as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789. The Bible has subsequently been used in the inauguration ceremonies of several other U.S. presidents.
The Bible is the King James Version, dated 1767, complete with the Apocrypha and elaborately supplemented with the historical, astronomical and legal data of that period.[1] St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons, are the custodians of what is now known as the George Washington Inaugural Bible. There is dispute over whether the Bible was randomly opened to Genesis 49 during the ceremony, or whether Washington purposely chose it.[2][3]