Monica DeSousa
The tradition of using the biblical oath dates back to the first American inauguration, but not all presidents use it.
When Joe Biden takes office as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, he will take the oath while his right hand is raised and his left hand resting on the bible.
Joe Biden is sworn in as vice president before Supreme Court judge Sonia Sotomayor (right) at the US Naval Observatory in Washington in January 2013. Photo: AFP.
This tradition began with the first President George Washington, who took office on February 30, 1789 in the town hall in New York City, the US capital at that time.
Many of Washington's successors chose the Bible he used for their inauguration, such as Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush.
George W. Bush also wanted to use the bible when he took office in 2001, but feared that the book would be damaged by rain, so he switched to using the family bible.
Although the bible Washington has used has become a popular choice throughout the history of presidency in America, it is not clear which many previous presidents have used.
The Lincoln Bible, kept at the Library of Congress, was used by former President Abraham Lincoln during his first inauguration in 1861. Barack Obama was the first president after Lincoln to use it for both.
In 2017, Donald Trump also used the Lincoln Bible in a protective box with the one his mother gave away in 1955, two days before the US President's 9th birthday.
Meanwhile, many other US presidents choose to use the family Bible when taking the oath.
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower drew attention when he used his personal bible "West Point" based on the Washington Bible to take the oath of office during his first term in 1953.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy used his mother's Fitzgerald family Bible to take his oath.
However, not all US presidents use the period for their inauguration.
In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was climbing the Adirondack when he received news that President William McKinley was unlikely to survive after being shot a week earlier.
Likewise, Lyndon Johnson did not use his period during his inauguration after John F. Kennedy's assassination.
In both vows of vice president in 2009 and 2013, Biden used the 1893 family bible and he plans to still use it for his upcoming inauguration.
Biden's son Beau, who died in 2015, also used the family Bible to take the oath of office as Attorney General of Delaware and helped bring it to his father's inauguration in 2013.
