The diversity of known YHWH names and the fact that there is no specific YHWH iconography leads to the thesis that there were different origins of YHWH and regional manifestations of this god before the exile. The poly-Yahwistic and poly-iconographic approach to Yahwism leads to a mosaic of regionally distinct, religiously heterogeneous clusters, which were only harmonized with one another in the post-exilic period by Judean and Samaritan interpretive authorities.
