סָלַח (H5545) — Hebrew Lexicon

סָלַח

𐤎𐤋𐤇

çâlach

H5545 verb

SILEX Entry

Root סלח to forgive, to pardon, to grant remission

Definition

To forgive, specifically indicating the act of pardoning or remitting wrongdoing, injury, or guilt, almost exclusively with reference to divine forgiveness as an act of mercy or grace. The verb denotes lifting or removal of liability for offense but does not erase all consequences. It is primarily used to describe YHWH's pardoning of individual or collective transgressions, rarely if ever ascribed to human action in the Hebrew Bible.

Semantic Range

to forgive (divine subject), to pardon, to remit or release from guilt, to spare from punishment (in a divine context); never describes mundane human forgiveness

Root / Etymology

Root is סלח (samekh-lamed-chet), etymology uncertain beyond biblical Hebrew. The word is a verbal root denoting the act of forgiving or pardoning. Distinct from roots meaning 'to cover' (כפר) or 'to bear/carry' (נשא), it focuses on the authoritative granting of release from guilt.

Historical & Contextual Notes

סָלַח is a verb found nearly exclusively in contexts of divine forgiveness. In the Hebrew Bible, it nearly always describes YHWH's willingness or reluctance to forgive the wrongdoing (חֵטְא, עָווֹן, פֶּשַׁע) of individuals, communities, or the nation, often in the context of intercessory prayer (e.g., Exodus 34:9, Numbers 14:19). Unlike כפר ('to atone') and נשא ('to bear, carry away'), סָלַח does not describe ritual or cultic action, but an inner disposition or sovereign act of God toward forgiveness. The term almost never describes interpersonal forgiveness between humans, making its usage distinctive compared to related verbs. Across Israelite history, its nuance remains stable from monarchic to post-exilic texts, with post-exilic and later literature making the theme of divine forgiveness central to penitential prayers (e.g., Daniel 9:19; Nehemiah 9:17). English translations typically render it as 'to forgive' or 'to pardon,' but these do not always convey its specific orientation toward divine prerogative.

Translation Consistency

primary "forgive" 23 occurrences

SILEX defines H5545 as the divine act of pardoning or remitting guilt; 'forgive' is the most natural, idiomatic English rendering and is the most frequent choice in existing translations. It captures the primary semantic range (divine pardon/spare from punishment) and supports consistent, readable inflections across all forms.

Alternatives (25 occurrences):

"forgiven" (14x) "pardon" (5x) "forgave" (2x) "pardoned" (1x) "grant pardon" (1x) "you" (1x) "pardoning one" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to forgive; forgive, pardon, spare.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

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Root Family

סלח (s-l-ḥ) — to forgive, to pardon, to grant remission

Strong's	Lemma	SIBI-P1
H5546	סַלָּח	and forgiving
H5547	סְלִיחָה	the pardon

Word Forms

15 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`H5545-12`	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven	13
`H5545-13`	וְ/סָלַחְתָּ֛	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqp2ms`	and forgive	and you pardoned	and you will forgive	12
`H5545-15`	יִֽסְלַח	yiselach	`HVqi3ms`	may forgive	he will pardon	he will forgive	5
`H5545-01`	אֶֽסְלַֽח	eselach	`HVqi1cs`	I forgive	I will pardon	I will forgive	3
`H5545-11`	וְ/אֶסְלַ֖ח	veeselach	`HC/Vqi1cs`	and forgive	and I will pardon	and I will forgive	2
`H5545-07`	סְלַֽח	selach	`HVqv2ms`	forgive	Forgive!	Forgive	2
`H5545-14`	וְ/סָלַחְתִּ֗י	vesalacheti	`HC/Vqq1cs`	and-I-will-forgive	and I pardoned	and I will forgive	2
`H5545-04`	לִ/סְלֹֽחַ	liselocha	`HR/Vqc`	to forgive	to grant pardon	to forgive	2
`H5545-02`	הַ/סֹּלֵ֥חַ	hasolecha	`HTd/Vqrmsa`	who forgives	the pardoning one	the pardoning one	1
`H5545-03`	לָ֔/ךְ	lakhe	`HR/Sp2fs`	you	to you	you	1
`H5545-06`	סָלַ֖חְתִּי	salacheti	`HVqp1cs`	I have forgiven	I have pardoned	I have forgiven	1
`H5545-09`	סְלֹ֣חַֽ	selocha	`HVqc`	to forgive	to grant pardon	to grant pardon	1
`H5545-08`	סְלָ֔חָ/ה	selachah	`HVqv2ms/Sh`	forgive!	Pardon!	Pardon	1
`H5545-10`	אסלוח	slvch	`HVqi1cs`	should I forgive	I will pardon	I will pardon	1
`H5545-05`	סָלָֽחְתָּ	salacheta	`HVqp2ms`	have pardoned	you pardoned	have forgiven	1

Occurrences in Scripture

48 occurrences

Filter by SIDANCE:

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`H5545-13`	Exodus 34:9	וְ/סָלַחְתָּ֛	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqp2ms`	pardon	and you pardoned	and you will pardon
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 4:20	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 4:26	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and-it-shall-be-forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 4:31	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and-it-shall-be-forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 4:35	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 5:10	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and he shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and it shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 5:13	וְ/נִסְלַ֣ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 5:16	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 5:18	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 5:26	וְ/נִסְלַ֣ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and he shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Leviticus 19:22	וְ/נִסְלַ֣ח	veniselach	`HC/VNq3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-07`	Numbers 14:19	סְלַֽח	selach	`HVqv2ms`	Pardon	Forgive!	Forgive
`H5545-06`	Numbers 14:20	סָלַ֖חְתִּי	salacheti	`HVqp1cs`	I have forgiven	I have pardoned	I have forgiven
`H5545-12`	Numbers 15:25	וְ/נִסְלַ֣ח	veniselach	`HC/VNp3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-12`	Numbers 15:26	וְ/נִסְלַ֗ח	veniselach	`HC/VNp3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and it shall be pardoned
`H5545-12`	Numbers 15:28	וְ/נִסְלַ֥ח	veniselach	`HC/VNp3ms`	and it shall be forgiven	and he shall be pardoned	and he shall be forgiven
`H5545-15`	Numbers 30:6	יִֽסְלַח	yiselach	`HVqi3ms`	will-forgive	he will pardon	he will forgive
`H5545-15`	Numbers 30:9	יִֽסְלַֽח	yiselach	`HVqi3ms`	will forgive	he will pardon	he will forgive
`H5545-15`	Numbers 30:13	יִֽסְלַֽח	yiselach	`HVqi3ms`	forgives	he will pardon	he will forgive
`H5545-09`	Deuteronomy 29:19	סְלֹ֣חַֽ	selocha	`HVqc`	to forgive	to grant pardon	to grant pardon
`H5545-13`	1 Kings 8:30	וְ/סָלָֽחְתָּ	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and-forgive	and you pardoned	and you will forgive
`H5545-13`	1 Kings 8:34	וְ/סָ֣לַחְתָּ֔	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and forgive	and you pardoned	and you will forgive
`H5545-13`	1 Kings 8:36	וְ/סָ֨לַחְתָּ֜	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and-forgive	and you pardoned	and you will forgive
`H5545-13`	1 Kings 8:39	וְ/סָלַחְתָּ֣	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and forgive	and you pardoned	and you will forgive
`H5545-13`	1 Kings 8:50	וְ/סָלַחְתָּ֤	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and forgive	and you pardoned	and you forgave
`H5545-15`	2 Kings 5:18	יִסְלַ֥ח	yiselach	`HVqi3ms`	may forgive	he will pardon	may forgive
`H5545-15`	2 Kings 5:18	יִסְלַח	yiselach-2	`HVqj3ms`	may forgive	he will pardon	may forgive
`H5545-04`	2 Kings 24:4	לִ/סְלֹֽחַ	liselocha	`HR/Vqc`	to forgive	to grant pardon	to forgive
`H5545-04`	Isaiah 55:7	לִ/סְלֽוֹחַ	liselocha	`HR/Vqc`	to forgive	to grant pardon	to forgive
`H5545-11`	Jeremiah 5:1	וְ/אֶסְלַ֖ח	veeselach	`HC/Vqi1cs`	and I will pardon	and I will pardon	and I will forgive
`H5545-10`	Jeremiah 5:7	אסלוח	slvch	`HVqi1cs`	should I forgive	I will pardon	I will pardon
`H5545-01`	Jeremiah 5:7	אֶֽסְלַֽח	eselach	`HVqi1cs`	I forgive	I will pardon	I will forgive
`H5545-03`	Jeremiah 5:7	לָ֔/ךְ	lakhe	`HR/Sp2fs`	you	to you	you
`H5545-01`	Jeremiah 31:34	אֶסְלַח֙	eselach	`HVqi1cs`	I-will-forgive	I will pardon	I will forgive
`H5545-14`	Jeremiah 33:8	וְ/סָלַחְתִּ֗י	vesalacheti	`HC/Vqq1cs`	and-I-will-forgive	and I pardoned	and I will forgive
`H5545-14`	Jeremiah 36:3	וְ/סָלַחְתִּ֥י	vesalacheti	`HC/Vqq1cs`	and-I-will-forgive	and I pardoned	and I will forgive
`H5545-01`	Jeremiah 50:20	אֶסְלַ֖ח	eselach	`HVqi1cs`	I will pardon	I will pardon	I will forgive
`H5545-07`	Amos 7:2	סְֽלַֽח	selach	`HVqv2ms`	forgive	Forgive!	Forgive
`H5545-13`	Psalms 25:11	וְֽ/סָלַחְתָּ֥	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqp2ms`	pardon	and you pardoned	and you forgave
`H5545-02`	Psalms 103:3	הַ/סֹּלֵ֥חַ	hasolecha	`HTd/Vqrmsa`	who forgives	the pardoning one	the pardoning one
`H5545-05`	Lamentations 3:42	סָלָֽחְתָּ	salacheta	`HVqp2ms`	have pardoned	you pardoned	have forgiven
`H5545-08`	Daniel 9:19	סְלָ֔חָ/ה	selachah	`HVqv2ms/Sh`	forgive!	Pardon!	Pardon
`H5545-13`	2 Chronicles 6:21	וְ/סָלָֽחְתָּ	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and-forgive	and you pardoned	and you forgive
`H5545-13`	2 Chronicles 6:25	וְ/סָ֣לַחְתָּ֔	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and-forgive	and you pardoned	and you will pardon
`H5545-13`	2 Chronicles 6:27	וְ/סָ֨לַחְתָּ֜	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and forgive	and you pardoned	and you will forgive
`H5545-13`	2 Chronicles 6:30	וְ/סָ֣לַחְתָּ֔	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and forgive	and you pardoned	and you will forgive
`H5545-13`	2 Chronicles 6:39	וְ/סָלַחְתָּ֥	vesalacheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and forgive	and you pardoned	and you shall pardon
`H5545-11`	2 Chronicles 7:14	וְ/אֶסְלַח֙	veeselach	`HC/Vqi1cs`	and forgive	and I will pardon	and I will forgive

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