There is thought to be an allusion here to a custom which was practiced in Egypt in connection with the worship of the sacred calf, Apis. Godwyn says: “The party that repaired unto him tendered a bottle of hay or grass; which, if he received, then it betokened a good and happy event; if, otherwise, he refused it, then it did portend some evil to come” (Moses and Aaron, book 4, chapter 5).