Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 20:41

"And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of [a place] toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded." — 1 Samuel 20:41 (ASV)

A place toward the south — This is an unintelligible description, as one would expect a repetition of the description of David’s hiding place in 1 Samuel 20:19. The Septuagint in both places has “argab,” a word meaning a “heap of stones.” If this is the true reading, David’s hiding place was either a natural cavernous rock called “Argab” or the ruin of an ancient building, which would be an equally suitable hiding place.

Bowed himself three times — This was doubtless a token of his unshaken loyalty to Jonathan as the son of his king and as his friend. It was also an acknowledgment of Jonathan’s power to kill him if he saw fit .

David exceeded — His affection for Jonathan, coupled with his sense of Saul’s injustice and his own injured innocence, fully explains his strong emotion.