{"id":1376,"date":"2014-07-01T15:25:47","date_gmt":"2014-07-01T20:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/?page_id=1376"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:19:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:19:43","slug":"the-aitken-bible","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/the-aitken-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"The Aitken Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of all the works printed by Robert Aitken, none became more closely associated with his name than his 1782 Bible. Produced in Philadelphia during the American Revolution, when the war had disrupted the importation of English Bibles, it was the first complete English-language Bible printed in America and later became known as the \u201cBible of the Revolution.\u201d Although Aitken printed 10,000 copies, the undertaking ended in financial loss and only a small number are known to survive today.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly translated out of the Original Tongues… Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by R. Aitken, 1782.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No English-language Bible had been published in America during the colonial period, as the English Crown held the copyright to the King James version, and printed all Bibles in London.<\/p>\n

Starting in 1776 with the start of the American Revolution, the war with Britain had cut off the importation of Bibles.<\/p>\n

Aitken had printed copies of the New Testament in 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1781. In 1780, he started reproducing the bible, and the following year requested that the Chaplains of Congress endorse the book for accuracy.<\/p>\n

Later dubbed \u201cThe Bible of the Revolution\u201d, Aitken\u2019s Bible was small enough at 4 inches wide by 6 inches tall to fit into a coat pocket. 10,000 were printed in 1782 and fewer than 30 are known in existence today. The bible was printed at Aitken’s Philadelphia print shop, using an early American movable-type press. The paper stock was a thick grade of wood-pulp paper, as cotton was deemed to be too expensive for this production. Unfortunately, his endeavor ended in financial loss and many of the bibles were ultimately thrown away.<\/p>\n

Resources<\/h2>\n

There are a number of websites that cover the creation of the Aitken bible. Here are a few. (These are external links and will open in a new tab or window.)<\/p>\n

The First American Bible<\/a> – try to ignore the religious gobbledy gook; there is a nice essay here about Robert Aitken.
\nNo, Mr. Beck, Congress Did Not Print a Bible for the Use of Schools<\/a> – this provides a good account of the bible’s importance today from an article on the Huffington Post.
\nWonderful Footnote List<\/a> from Chris Rodda’s book, Liars for Jesus. This list has links to tons of original sources. Someday I hope to be able to explore these in detail.
\nCongress and the Bible<\/a>, the first chapter from Liars for Jesus, a book by Chris Rodda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of all the works printed by Robert Aitken, none became more closely associated with his name than his 1782 Bible. Produced in Philadelphia during the American Revolution, when the war had disrupted the importation of English Bibles, it was the first complete English-language Bible printed in America and later became known as the \u201cBible of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9096,"parent":1322,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1376","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P3viLY-mc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1360,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/robert-aitken-1735-1802\/","url_meta":{"origin":1376,"position":0},"title":"Robert Aitken, Sr. (1735-1802)","author":"Karen","date":"July 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert Aitken, Sr. (1735\u20131802) was a Scottish-born bookseller, printer, and publisher who became part of Philadelphia\u2019s Revolutionary-era printing world after immigrating to America in 1769. He published The Pennsylvania Magazine, printed the journals of the Continental Congress, did business with figures including Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin, and is best\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/robert-aitken-1735-1802\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1322,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/","url_meta":{"origin":1376,"position":1},"title":"Aitken","author":"Karen","date":"June 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Aitken family traced here begins in Scotland and became firmly established in Philadelphia with Robert Aitken, Sr., the Revolutionary-era bookseller, printer, and publisher who arrived in America in 1769. His descendants remained closely tied to Philadelphia for several generations before the family line represented here continued through Joseph Aitken\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1341,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/robert-aitken\/","url_meta":{"origin":1376,"position":2},"title":"Robert Aitken, Jr. (1767-1823)","author":"Karen","date":"June 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Robert Aitken, Jr. (1767\u20131823) was born in Paisley, Scotland, the son of Philadelphia printer and publisher Robert Aitken, Sr. He married Nancy Ann Pearson in Philadelphia in 1787 and became the father of Joseph Aitken, continuing the Aitken family line in Philadelphia into the nineteenth century. He is my husband's\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1336,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/joseph-aitken-1808-1875\/","url_meta":{"origin":1376,"position":3},"title":"Joseph Aitken (1808-1875)","author":"Karen","date":"June 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Joseph Aitken (1808\u20131875) was a lifelong Philadelphian and the son of Robert Aitken, Jr. and Nancy Ann Pearson. He worked as a gravel roofer and spent his life in the city where his grandfather Robert Aitken, Sr. had established the family more than a generation earlier. Joseph and Mary Margaret\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1326,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/elizabeth-rebecca-aitken-1852-1925\/","url_meta":{"origin":1376,"position":4},"title":"Elizabeth Rebecca Aitken (1852-1925)","author":"Karen","date":"June 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Elizabeth \u201cLilly\u201d Rebecca Aitken Harrar (1852\u20131925) was the daughter of Joseph Aitken and Mary Margaret Loughead and my husband\u2019s great-grandmother. She married Ellwood Scott Harrar in 1876, and together they had six children. Through their daughter Mary Adele Harrar, who married James Chamberlin Furst, Elizabeth forms the link between the\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/surnames\/aitken\/elizabeth-rebecca-aitken-1852-1925\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Page-Headers-Featured-Image-Aitken-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/about\/","url_meta":{"origin":1376,"position":5},"title":"About","author":"Karen","date":"December 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Researching my family history is an addicting hobby I've been indulging in for the past twenty years or so. I've uncovered distant ancestors and met long-lost cousins along the way and I'm sharing some of the data with you on these pages. If you can't find what you are looking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Genealogy News"","block_context":{"text":"Genealogy News","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/genealogy-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1376"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9124,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1376\/revisions\/9124"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}