Hibernate is an object-relational mapping tool that allows Java objects to be mapped to database tables. It handles the conversion between Java objects and database rows. Hibernate sits between Java objects and a database, handling all persistence-related tasks without requiring any SQL or JDBC code to be written. It supports various databases and technologies and provides APIs for easily storing and accessing Java objects directly from a database. Configuring Hibernate involves setting up configuration files that specify the database connection and class mappings between Java objects and database tables. SessionFactory and Session objects are then used to connect to the database and perform CRUD operations on persistent objects.