And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: (Judges 11:5)
The elders had been seeking for someone to lead them against the Ammonites, but none of the inhabitants of Gilead had the skill or reputation to win the confidence of the elders of the tribes for the hazardous undertaking they all faced. They all had heard of the prowess of Jephthah and his group of warriors, and so their choice for a leader fell on him.