Wozu braucht man hier eine Schleife? Sie müssen Ihre Update-Anweisung in etwa so umschreiben:
UPDATE t_numbers tn
SET tn.country = (SELECT ic.country
FROM int_codes ic
WHERE ic.int_code = substr(tn.phone_number, 1, 4))
WHERE tn.country is null
AND EXISTS (SELECT 1
FROM int_codes ic
WHERE ic.int_code = substr(tn.phone_number, 1, 4));
Wiederholen Sie dann dasselbe für 3, 2 und 1 wie folgt (für 3):
UPDATE t_numbers tn
SET tn.country = (SELECT ic.country
FROM int_codes ic
WHERE ic.int_code = substr(tn.phone_number, 1, 3))
WHERE tn.country is null
AND EXISTS (SELECT 1
FROM int_codes ic
WHERE ic.int_code = substr(tn.phone_number, 1, 3));
AKTUALISIERUNG:
Sie können auch 4 zu 1 durchlaufen, um die Aufgabe zu lösen
begin
for i in 1..4 loop
UPDATE t_numbers tn
SET tn.country = (SELECT ic.country
FROM int_codes ic
WHERE ic.int_code = substr(tn.phone_number, 1, (5-i)))
WHERE tn.country is null
AND EXISTS (SELECT 1
FROM int_codes ic
WHERE ic.int_code = substr(tn.phone_number, 1, (5-i)));
end loop;
END;