Ishtob

Ishtob (meaning man of Tob) was one of the small Aramaean (Syrian) kingdoms or city-states east of the Jordan that the Ammonites hired to fight against David when they realized they had become odious to him following their mistreatment of David's ambassadors (2 Samuel 10:6, 8). The men of Ishtob contributed twelve thousand soldiers to the coalition force. The region of Tob is mentioned earlier in Judges 11:3, 5, where Jephthah fled to the land of Tob after being driven out by his brothers and gathered worthless men around him there.

Ishtob's territory is generally located in the Transjordan northeast of the Sea of Galilee, in the region between Bashan and the Aramaean kingdoms further north. The coalition of Ammon, Beth-rehob, Zoba, Maacah, and Ishtob against David was decisively defeated by Joab and Abishai in the ensuing battle, after which the Aramaean kings submitted to David and became his vassals.