1. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father.
2. Gilead’s wife also gave him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, because you are another woman’s son.”
3. So Jephthah left his half-brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him.
4. It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel.
5. When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back from the land of Tob.
6. They said, “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.”