Hebron is home to the Tombs of the Patriarchs. Three biblical couples—Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah—are buried there. (Jacob's wife Rachel is buried on the outskirts of Bethlehem).
Hebron is second only to the Western Wall as the holiest site for the Jews. It is sacred to Christians and Muslims as well.
Abraham bought property when his wife, Sarah, died, circa 2,000 BC. You can read the account in Genesis 23. Abraham paid 400 shekels of silver for the peace of land containing the Cave of Machpelah.
Today, the Cave of Machpelah is covered by a fortress-like structure built by Herod the Great in the same style of ashlar masonry that he used on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
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