Lexical Summary Tob: Good, pleasant, agreeable, beneficial Original Word: טוֹב Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Tob The same as towb; good; Tob, a region apparently East of the Jordan -- Tob. see HEBREW towb NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom tob Definition a region E. of the Jordan NASB Translation Tob (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs IV. טוֺב proper name, of a location (perhaps from above √) — a region beyond Jordan, north or northeast of Gilead, probably Aramean; אֶרֶץ טוֺב Judges 11:3,5, ᵐ5 Τωβ; טוֺב אישׁ 2 Samuel 10:6,8 men of Tôb, ᵐ5 (Ε)ιδτωβ; = Τούβιον, Τώβιον1Macc 5:13; identified by ConderHandb. 295 with southern Bashan, where is still Taiyibeh, 12 miles southeast from Sea of Galilee. Topical Lexicon Geographical identity and meaning of the name Tob appears in Scripture as a small Trans-Jordanian district east or north-east of Gilead, bounded by Ammon to the south and the various Aramean (Syrian) kingdoms to the north and west. Its Hebrew spelling טוֹב is identical with the common adjective “good,” suggesting that ancient Israelites would have heard an immediate echo of pleasantness or blessing whenever the place was named. Nothing in the text explicitly exploits that word-play, yet the narrative of Jephthah hints that God can draw “good” out of an apparently marginal land. Appearances in the Old Testament narrative 1. Judges 11:3 – Jephthah, disinherited by his brothers, “fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and went out with him.” Historical and geopolitical significance During the Judges period Tob lay beyond Israelite control yet close enough to provide refuge for a Gileadite outcast. Its mixed population produced the “worthless men” (literally, empty men) who flocked to Jephthah—an ancient free company of adventurers similar to later Near-Eastern mercenary bands. By the United-Monarchy period Tob seems to have remained outside Israel’s borders but within the Ammonite/Syrian sphere, ready to lease its soldiers to the highest bidder. This fluid allegiance underscores the constant pressure Israel faced from smaller neighboring states that shifted loyalty according to immediate advantage. Theological themes 1. Divine reversal: Jephthah’s sojourn in Tob anticipates God’s pattern of uplifting the marginalized. The place that sheltered Israel’s reject becomes the staging ground for Israel’s deliverance. Ministry reflections • Marginal places matter. Modern readers may regard certain regions or social groups as peripheral, yet God often cultivates leaders in such “lands of Tob.” Key cross-references for study Judges 11; 2 Samuel 10; Psalm 118:22; 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. Forms and Transliterations ט֑וֹב ט֔וֹב ט֣וֹב טֽוֹב׃ טוב טוב׃ ṭō·wḇ Tov ṭōwḇLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Judges 11:3 HEB: וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּאֶ֣רֶץ ט֑וֹב וַיִּֽתְלַקְּט֤וּ אֶל־ NAS: in the land of Tob; and worthless KJV: in the land of Tob: and there were gathered INT: and lived the land of Tob gathered about Judges 11:5 2 Samuel 10:6 2 Samuel 10:8 4 Occurrences |
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