The Hebrew adjective sallach (סַלָּח) means forgiving or ready to pardon. It appears only once in the entire Old Testament (Psalm 86:5), used exclusively as an attribute of God. Its singular use makes it all the more striking — it is a divine title.
Sallach captures something no other Hebrew word for forgiveness quite conveys: it describes not just an act but a disposition. God is not merely willing to forgive when pressed — He is by nature forgiving. The related verb salach (H5545) is itself used only of God in the Old Testament; no human ever forgives in the salach sense. Together they establish that radical, total, divine pardon is a uniquely divine prerogative.