Bible Dictionary
Tob
Tob was a district east of the Jordan where Jephthah took refuge after being driven from home. Its people later joined the Ammonites in war against Israel.
Definition
Tob was a district where Jephthah took refuge after being driven from home by his half-brother. He remained there with a band of men until the elders of Gilead recalled him.
Biblical Usage
The land of Tob is also associated with the men who joined the Ammonites against Israel.
Historical Background
It lay not far from Gilead, toward the eastern deserts. Later references connect it with Ishtob and with the Tubieni or people of Tob, but no certain modern identification is given.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(good), The land of, a place in which Jephthah took refuge when expelled from home by his half-brother, (Judges 11:3) and where he remained, at the head of a band of freebooters, till he was brought back by the sheikhs of Gilead. ver. 5. The narrative implies that the land of Tob was not far distant from Gilead; at the same time, from the nature of the case it must have lain out toward the eastern deserts. It is undoubtedly mentioned again in (2 Samuel 10:6,8) as Ishtob, i.e. man of Tob, meaning, according to a common Hebrew idiom, the men of Tob. After a long interval it appears again, in the Maccabaean history, 1 Macc. 5:13, in the names Tobie and Tubieni. 2 Macc. 12:17. No identification of the ancient, district with any modern one has yet been attempted.