The central theological idea of the O.T. is that Yahweh, the God of heaven and earth, has made a covenant with the Hebrew nation which came out of Egypt: a pact to protect the nation and to make them enter the land of Canaan, as promised to the Patriarchs. Because Israel is the «firstborn» of Yahweh and his «inheritance» it is destined to dominate all nations. O.T. religion is based on a distinct national-monotheism. Alongside the «nationalistic» texts there are a few which seem to announce a universalist messianic horizon (Gan 12,1-3; Is 2, 2-4; 19, 24; Zac 8, 21.23; Ps 87, 5; Jonah). They are glimpses of a «universalism» dependent on God's salvific designs for all peoples.