The Hebrew Ish-Tob (אִישׁ טוֹב) literally means 'man of Tob' and refers to the region or territory called Tob, located northeast of Gilead beyond the Jordan. In the narrative of Jephthah, this region provided refuge for the outcast judge-to-be. Later, during David's war against the Ammonites, the king of Maacah hired warriors from Ish-Tob as mercenaries.
The region of Ish-Tob — 'place of Tob' (goodness) — provides the setting for Jephthah's exile and eventual restoration. The wilderness becomes a training ground for future leaders. Jephthah, driven out by his half-brothers as an illegitimate son, gathered men around him in Tob — just as David would gather the distressed and discontented at Adullam. From the margins of society, both men built the companies that would deliver Israel. The pattern repeats: God finds His instruments not in the palaces but in the rejected places. The name Tob (goodness) over a wilderness refuge speaks of God's hidden goodness even in places of exile.