How did God appear at Mount Sinai in the book of Exodus?

In the book of Exodus, the appearance of God at Mount Sinai is depicted as a powerful manifestation of divine presence. After the Israelites prepared themselves according to divine instructions, God appeared at the top of the mountain amidst fire and smoke, accompanied by the sound of a ram’s horn.1

Some accounts describe this event as God appearing in a storm to the people, while the sound of heavenly trumpets signaled the moment. As the mediator, Moses ascended the mountain to receive the terms of the Sinai covenant, which included the Ten Commandments. Following the sealing of the covenant, a sacral meal took place at the mountaintop where Moses and the elders were able to see God.21

Critical scholarship notes that these narratives reflect a combination of different source traditions, which accounts for variations in how the encounter is described, such as whether the elders observed from afar or participated in the meal in God's direct presence.1