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Place Old Testament

Tob

Also known as Ish-tob =KJV; men of Tob =ESV, NIV

Tob (or Ish-tob), a region east of the Jordan River where Jephthah fled and later recruited mercenaries to fight the Ammonites (Judg. 11:3, 5; 2Sam. 10:6, 8). Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at Judges 11:3.

Why it matters. Region where Jephthah fled and recruited mercenaries

Location
32.562, 36.240 (approximate, within about 2 km)

Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

About Tob

Tob, also referred to as Ish-tob, was a region east of the Jordan River where Jephthah, a judge of Israel, fled after being expelled by his half-brothers (Judg. 11:3). In Tob, Jephthah gathered a group of worthless men who followed him, possibly serving as mercenaries. When the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead sought out Jephthah in the land of Tob and requested that he lead them in battle (Judg. 11:5-6). Jephthah agreed and successfully defeated the Ammonites. The region of Tob is also mentioned in 2Sa.10.6, 8, where the Ammonites hired mercenaries from Tob to fight against King David's army. The exact location of Tob is uncertain, but it was likely situated in the northern part of Gilead, near the border with Syria.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.

Connections

No reviewed connections yet.

Appears in Scripture

Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Place. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.