During recent excavations in the ancient Kingdom of Judea, near Jerusalem, archaeologists have found several heads of anthropomorphic male figurines from the 10th century BC.
Among the artifacts found is a bearded man with a square, flat head, a protruding nose, holes for earrings and somewhat protruding eyes. The similarity between the heads of the statuettes suggests that they represent the same figure - the god Yahweh.
Archaeologist and Hebrew University professor Yosef Garfinkel claims that the figurines show the face of Yahweh, the God of Israel. More specifically, his sensational statement means that the ancient Israelites made idols (despite strict biblical instructions not to do so) and that we now have an ancient portrait of God.
The three heads of the statuette were recently excavated from Khirbet Qayyaf and Tel Moze, located near the modern city of Jerusalem. Garfinkel argues that the discovery of some horse-like figures near the Mozo's heads suggests that this anthropomorphic figure was originally a rider on a horse. It's clear to Garfinkel that this is an image of an ancient deity.
There are several candidates for this position. In particular, the Canaanite deity Baal (Yahweh's rival in the Bible) has been repeatedly described as the "rider of the clouds" in ancient Ugaritic texts. However, Garfinkel argues that this is not Baal, but Yahweh, referring to the mention of God in the Bible as the one "who rides on the clouds."
The direct objection to Garfinkel's hypothesis is that this is exactly what the Bible tells the ancient Israelites not to do. Idols are strictly prohibited in a number of texts, including the Ten Commandments. Are the references to the vision of the face of God in the Hebrew Bible strictly metaphorical? Garfinkel argues that the ban on the cult images of Yahweh was not in effect when the figurines were used, but was only introduced during the 8th century BC.