Ish-Tob

Ish-tob — rendered in the UPDV as "the men of Tob" — is a small Aramean entity hired by the sons of Ammon as part of the coalition raised against David. It appears only in the muster and battle of 2 Samuel 10.

Hired into the Ammonite Coalition

The Ammonites, having insulted David's envoys, expect retaliation and hire allies: "And when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become a stench to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men" (2 Sam 10:6). The roll is precise: Beth-rehob and Zobah supply the bulk of the infantry at twenty thousand, Maacah supplies the king with a thousand, and the men of Tob bring twelve thousand of their own.

In the Battle Line

When Joab arrays Israel against the coalition, the contingents stand separately. "And the sons of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate: and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the field" (2 Sam 10:8). The Ammonites hold the gate; the hired Syrians and the men of Tob form the open-field force, paired here with Maacah. The division of forces is what gives Joab his tactical opening in the verses that follow.