in my view, I would say that, prior to Jesus' death, all people who believed in God and followed his teachings and believed that one day he would send the ultimate sacrifice are saved. so we're talking the Jews of the old testament, God's Chosen People. Prior to the 10 commandments (Noah, etc.), people who believed in God were saved as well. God had rules and all prior to the big 10, but once there was an organized, self-governing (more or less), wandering group of people, they needed set rules to follow. now, strangely, IMO (and I might be viewed as a "hater" or supremacist or whatever for this) the Jews of today are not saved b/c they do not believe in Christ as their savior; they think he was a really great guy, but the savior God promised back in Adam's day is still coming.