Appearance:
Early Israelites likely saw Yahweh in the same visual way other Canaanite gods were imagined, not as a purely abstract being. The imagery of him riding on a cloud, appearing in storm and fire, and dwelling on a mountain all come from this period. It’s only later, during the Exilic and Second Temple periods, that Yahweh became the invisible, sole, all-powerful God.
Often envisioned like other West Semitic storm gods (similar to Baal):
>Young or middle-aged warrior, with a beard, wearing a horned crown or helmet.
>Holding a thunderbolt or spear, sometimes riding on clouds or storms.
>Depicted as standing on mountains, symbolizing authority and storm-bringing.
Later Hebrew texts describe him as invisible and enthroned in fire or clouds (e.g., Sinai theophany).
Symbols:
>Storm cloud, lightning bolt, mountain, fire, whirlwind.
>Bulls may also have been sacred to him in early cult (like El and Baal).
>Sacred mountains: Sinai, Seir, Paran.
Consort:
>Asherah, in early Israelite inscriptions.
>Inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud (8th c. BCE) say:
“Blessed be you by Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah.”
>This confirms Yahweh had a divine partner before later theology erased her.
Titles:
>“Yahweh of Hosts” (YHWH Tseva’ot) — Commander of divine armies.
>“Rider on the Clouds” (borrowed from Baal titles).
>“God of Israel” (after tribal adoption).
Transformation:
>Son of El: a storm god assigned to Israel.
>Supreme God of Israel: elevated above other gods.
>Fusion with El: Yahweh adopts El’s identity as “Most High.”
>Monotheism: other gods demoted to angels, demons, or erased entirely.