Commentaire sur La Genèse 38:13

עלה תמנתה HE GOETH UP TO TIMNAH — In the case of Samson it is said (Judges 14:1) “And Samson went down to Timnah”. But it lay on the slope of a mountain: from one direction one had to go up to it, from the other one went down to it (Sotah 10a).

“Shimshon went down, etc... to Timnah”... [Question:] In the previous verse it is written, “He went up,” and Rashi explained that this is connected with “to Timnah.” If so, why did Rashi not make his comment there? The answer is: [Based on the previous verse alone, Rashi would agree that] “He went up” could be connected with “to his sheep-shearers.” I.e., he went up the mountain to where the shepherds were, to stand by his sheep-shearers. [Thus, Rashi’s comment depends on the present verse.]

עולה תמנתה, “ascending toward Timnat;” when Yehudah travelled this route it was spiritually uplifting for him (in retrospect) seeing that two righteous people would be born from that union. When Shimshon in Judges 14,1, travelled the same route, this is described as a “descent,” as it eventually led to his being blinded and dying, [and we have no record of his having sired any children at all. Ed.]