There was then no king in Edom. — This notice is apparently connected with the following verses; for Ezion-geber is a seaport of the Edomite territory. Whatever may have been the influence of Hadad in the last days of Solomon (1 Kings 11:14), Edom does not seem to have regained independence till the time of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 21:8-10); although in the confederacy against Jehoshaphat, those “of Mount Seir” are included with the Moabites and Ammonites (2 Chronicles 20:10; 2 Chronicles 20:22). The “king of Edom,” of 2 Kings 3, who is evidently a subject ally, not regarded in consultation (see 1 Kings 22:6-9), must be “the deputy” of this passage.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 22:47
1 Kings 22:47
47 There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.