Hebron

The ancient city in the Judean hill country thirty kilometers south of Jerusalem, set among terraced vineyards and almond orchards at one of the highest elevations in the region. Abraham buys the cave of Machpelah at Hebron from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place for Sarah (Genesis 23); the patriarchs and their wives — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Leah — are all laid there. Jacob's family is living in the Hebron hills when Joseph is sent to find his brothers near Shechem (Genesis 37). Centuries later David reigns from Hebron for seven years before moving the capital to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5).