Secondly, even when the Gentiles worshiped one particular god, often the god was divided up into numerous aspects, each of which was peculiar to a certain locality. For example, Baal was a single god. But the Scriptures reveal that different localities had different Baals, such as Baal of Peor at Moab, Baal-berith at Shechem and Baal-zebub at Ekron. (Num. 25:3, 5; Judg. 8:33; 2 Ki. 1:2-6) As to the effect that this had on the unity of the god reverenced, early in the 19th century Orientalist E. F. C. Rosenmüller pointed out that “not only [did the Gentiles worship] many gods, but by a foolish religious practice even one and the same god was venerated as if multiplied by different names into many other widely diverse gods.”a When people of different localities worshiped various “Baals,” each with its own peculiarities, it was as if Baal were many gods. A reference work of more recent times illustrates it in this way:

“The many ‘local’ representations of Baal worship could be compared with those of the Roman Catholic Mary worship. Just as one can speak of Notre Dame (Our Lady) of Paris, or of Lourdes, or of the North, one can also speak of the Lord [Baal] of Sapān, or of Sidon, or of Ugarit, even though one has in mind merely variations of a single figure.”​—Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol. II (1975), p. 186.