Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylon, in order to establish his kingdom he developed what is known as "Hammurabi's Code"." This was a set of 282 laws that were published on stone pillars around 1780 B.C.E. Abiding by all of Hammurabi's Code would ensure that the people in the kingdom would avoid punishment. These laws were similar to the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai in Yameh. The commandments were a set of rules designed by God to keep order in the new land of the Hebrews.
The Hammurabi Code and the Ten Commandments both declare that its' immoral to steal - to take anything that isn't yours away from another person. "If any one steals cattle or sheep, or an ass, or a pig or a goat, if it belong to a god or to the court, the thief shall pay thirty-fold therefore; if they belonged to a freed man of the king he shall pay tenfold; if the thief has nothing with which to pay he shall be put to death."(The Hammurabi Code), and one of the Ten Commandments states that thou shall not steal. These are two interpretations of the same law that we have adopted from different cultures to mean the same thing. This supports historians theories about how our country as a "melting pot " has grown, due to other cultures influences from ancient civilizations literature. .
In the bible's Book of Exodus it teaches its followers to honor thy mother and father. Hammurabi's Code also has many laws and prime examples of how his people will be punished if they disrespect, not only their birth parents, but also the guardians whom most graciously took them in as orphans. "If the son of a paramour or a prostitute say to his adoptive father or mother 'you are not my father or mother', then his tongue shall be cut off" (The Code of Hammurabi). Even though Hammurabi's punishments are harsh, we accept his idea that we should respect our elders, as stated in the Book of Exodus. This example supports how we as a country don't "copy other cultures beliefs, but how they influence our moral standings.