6. The sentence is plainly equivalent to the
following, which has two articles: "This is one of _the_ children of _the_
Hebrews." Not because the one article is equivalent to the two, or because
it relates to both of the nouns; but because the possessive relation itself
makes one of the nouns sufficiently definite. Now, if we change the latter
construction back into the former, it is the noun _children_ that drops its
article; it is therefore the other to which the remaining article relates.
But we sometimes find examples in which the same analogy does not hold.
Thus, "_a summer's day_" means, "_a day of summer_;" and we should hardly
pronounce it equivalent to "_the day of a summer_." So the questionable
phrase, "_a three days' journey_," means, "_a journey of three days_;" and,
whether the construction be right or wrong, the article _a_ cannot be said
to relate to the plural noun. Possibly such a phrase as, "_the three years'
war_," might mean, "_the war of three years_;" so that the article must
relate to the latter noun. But in general it is the latter noun that is
rendered definite by the possessive relation: thus the phrase, "_man's
works_" is equivalent to "_the works_ of man," not to "_works of the man_;"
so, "_the man's works_," is equivalent, not to "the works of man," but to
"the works of _the_ man."

[336] Horne Tooke says, "The _use_ of A after the word MANY is a corruption
for _of_; and has _no connection_ whatever with the _article_ A, i. e.
_one_."--_Diversions of Purley_, Vol. ii, p. 324. With this conjecture of
the learned etymologist, I do not concur: it is hardly worth while to state
here, what may he urged pro and con.

[337] "Nothing can be more certain than that [in Greek syntax] all words
used for the purpose of definition, either stand between the article and
the noun, or have their own article prefixed. Yet it may sometimes happen
that an apposition [with an article] is parenthetically inserted instead of
being affixed."--J. W. DONALDSON: _Journal of Philology_, No. 2, p. 223.

[338] _Churchill_ rashly condemns this construction, and still more rashly
proposes to make the noun singular without repeating the article. See his
_New Gram._, p. 311. But he sometimes happily forgets his own doctrine; as,
"In fact, _the second and fourth lines_ here stamp the character of the
measure."--_Ib._, p. 391. O. B. Peirce says, "'Joram's _second_ and _third
daughters_,' must mean, if it means any thing, his