Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a prostitute: and Gilead became the father of Jephthah.
The elders of Gilead made a formal public agreement with Jephthah at Mizpah in northern Gilead, contracting the conditions of his leading Israel in battle (Judges 11:10-11). They pinned the sheriff’s badge on him. Evidently Jephthah told the Lord about this covenant in prayer.