 According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham specifically purchased the land for use as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite, making it one of two purchases by Abraham of real estate in the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land.The book describes how the three patriarchs and their wives, the matriarchs, were buried there.The only matriarch missing is Jacob's other wife, Rachel, described in Genesis as having been buried near Bethlehem.