CBNNews.com  - Barack Obama's campaign promoted change but today he opts for something historic.

The 44th president will take his presidential oath while placing his hand on the same bible Abraham Lincoln used 147 years ago in his first inaugural address.

Obama chose to use the historic book to create a sense of unity and common heritage. He is the first president to use the book since Abraham Lincoln.

Though presidents are not required to take an oath on the Bible, many have chosen to do so. Some used bibles with personal significance, like Bill Clinton who used his grandmother's Bible.

Obama has not revealed what passage from the Bible he will use in the swearing-in-ceremony.

The burgundy velvet Bible with gilded edges was purchased and inscribed by William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court.

It will be on display at the Library of Congress February 12 to May 9 as part of an exhibition titled "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition." The exhibit will then travel to five other American cities in commemoration of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth on Feb. 12, 1809.

Over the weekend, Obama retraced the train route that Lincoln took to his first inaugrual. He then held a welcome event at the Lincoln Memorial ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Sources: Presidential Inaugural Committee, The Associated Press