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.
"Jephthah fled ... dwelt in Tob ... gathered vain fellows, and they went out with him"  (Judges 11:3).  "Tob may be tentatively identified with et-Taiyibeh, some fifteen miles east of Ramoth-Gilead."[5]  The "vain fellows" here were probably, as were the men who gathered around David, various characters whom society had rejected.  "`Went out' was a well-understood term meaning, `went out on raids.'"[6]  However, "It seems improper, in view of what we later learn of Jephthah's character, to ascribe to him and his men the lawless plundering of villages.  More than likely, he, like David, protected settlements from marauders.[7]