Jephthah served as a judge over Israel for six years following the leadership of Jair. His account is recorded in Judges 11:1—12:7.

First, Jephthah was a Gileadite but was born of a prostitute. Though a mighty warrior (Judges 11:1), he was driven away from the family as an adult because he was considered an illegitimate child. Verse 3 records that he moved to the land of Tob and lived among “a gang of scoundrels.”