In culture and religion thumb|upright=1.3|Joshua Passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant (1800) by Benjamin West, showing Yahweh leading the Israelites through the desert in the form of a pillar of cloud, as described in Clouds play an important mythical or non-scientific role in various cultures and religious traditions. The ancient Akkadians believed that the clouds (in meteorology, probably the supplementary feature mamma) were the breasts of the sky goddess Antu and that rain was milk from her breasts. In , Yahweh is described as guiding the Israelites through the desert in the form of a "pillar of cloud" by day and a "pillar of fire" by night. In Mandaeism, uthras (celestial beings) are also occasionally mentioned as being in anana ("clouds"; e.g., in Right Ginza Book 17, Chapter 1), which can also be interpreted as female consorts.
In culture and religion thumb|upright=13|Joshua Passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant (1800) by Benjamin West showing Yahweh leading the Israelites through the desert in the form of a pillar of cloud as described in Clouds play an important mythical or non-scientific role in various cultures and religious traditions The ancient Akkadians believed that the clouds (in meteorology probably the supplementary feature mamma) were the breasts of the sky goddess Antu and that rain was milk from her breasts In  Yahweh is described as guiding the Israelites through the desert in the form of a "pillar of cloud" by day and a "pillar of fire" by night In Mandaeism uthras (celestial beings) are also occasionally mentioned as being in anana ("clouds"; eg in Right Ginza Book 17 Chapter 1) which can also be interpreted as female consorts