What is the origin of the term/word LAY' as it applies to payment of nantucket whalers? Thank you.?

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I'm familiar with the term from "In the Heart of the Sea," but I'm coming up empty on its etymology.

A lay is a share of the profits. Melville's first voyage, I read in trying to answer this question, paid a lay of 1/175. The more seasoned or higher in the chain of command a man was, the larger his lay. A captain of a whaling ship might earn 1/8 lay....Show more

Could you post the sentence in context? As a nautical term, lay has several uses:

[Lay:    To come and go, used in giving orders to the crew, such as "lay forward" or "lay aloft". To direct the course of vessel. Also, to twist the strands of a rope together. To make it to a mark, buoy, or harbor, such as "We will lay the mark".]...Show more