Lane’s articleسَبَأٌ2 senses
1
See سَبِيْئَةٌ.
2they became scattered, and they went away dispersed, in the ways of Seba—تَفَرَّقُوا أَيْدِى سَبَا
they became scattered, and they went away dispersed, in the ways of Seba—أَيَادِى سَبَا
The phrase is also said with ذَهَبُوا in the place of تفرّقوا.
Seba were a people of El-Yemen who were dispersed when their [famous] dam burst and their lands were flooded, and who became proverbial for that.
سَبَا is here made indeclinable, with the last letter sākin, and forms with the preceding word a compound like خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ. [ بَنُوهُ in the CK is a mistranscription for بَنَوْهُ, and كما تَبَدَّد has therefore been interpolated there, immediately before بَنُوهُ. ]
[This implies that we should read أَيْدِى سَبَا and أَيَادِىَسَبَا, but I have never found it written so.]
It is not formed from سَبَأَ by dropping the ء; it is a substitute for that word, because this phrase is used so often.
[See also art. سبى.]
Show Lane's original text
: see سَبِيْئَةٌ تَفَرَّقُوا أَيْدِى سَبَا , and أَيَادِى سَبَا , (M, K,) and with ذَهَبُوا in the place of تفرّقوا , (T, TA,) They became scattered, or dispersed, (K, TA,) and they went away in a state of dispersion, in the ways of Seba, (T, TA,) a people of El-Yemen, who were dispersed in consequence of the inundation of their lands by the bursting of their [famous] dam, (TA,) and who became proverbial on that account: (M, K, TA:) سَبَا is here made indecl., (M, K, TA, [ بَنُوهُ in the CK being a mistranscription for بَنَوْهُ , wherefore كما تَبَدَّد has been there interpolated, immediately before بَنُوهُ ,]) with the last letter quiescent, and forms, with the preceding word, a compound like خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ [which implies that we should read أَيْدِى سَبَا and أَيَادِىَسَبَا , but I have never found it thus written]: (TA:) it is not formed from سَبَأَ by suppression of the ء , but is a substitute for that word, (M, K, TA,) on account of the frequent use of this phrase. (M, TA.) [See also art. سبى .]