Search question: How would I pull a list of every time God speaks about Israel?

Unfortunately, this is surprisingly hard because so many tags are used. I did a Factbook search for Israel to get ideas about which tags to use. The basic template is going to be something like this, but you may want to add some tags I didn't find. It is usually helpful to pick some examples and see if the search finds them.

(place:Israel OR person:"Israel (United Kingdom)" OR person:"Judah (United Kingdom)" OR person:Israelites OR person:"Jacob (son of Isaac)" OR person:"Daughters of Israel" OR person:Israelites OR person:"Israelites (Judges)" OR person:"Israelites (the Conquest)" OR person:"Israelites (the Exodus)" OR person:"Israelites (Hellenistic Period)" OR person:"Kingdom of Judah" OR person:"Kingdom of Israel (people)" OR person:"Kingdom of Judah (Divided Kingdom)" OR person:"Kingdom of Judah (Assyrian Exile)" OR person:"Jews (return from Exile)" OR person:Jews OR person:"Jews (Babylonian Captivity)") IN speaker:God

You could do a search for "land of" NOT Israel to see similar constructions for other nations. But I think that ultimately, it is not going to be a meaningful distinction. Here is what I got from ChatGPT
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Yes, you're absolutely right—there's often a fine line between an ethnonymic toponym (a place name derived from a group of people) and metonymy (where a term is used to stand in for something closely related, such as using the people to represent the land). In many cases, the distinction can be quite blurry, and it can depend on how the name evolved and how it is used in context.

Here's why the distinction can be difficult:

1. Historical Evolution of Place Names:

Many place names originally started out as descriptive ethnonymic terms. For example, Land of the Israelites eventually became just Israel. Over time, the specific connection to the people (as in "the people of Israel") might fade or be dropped, leaving only the name for the land itself. What started out as an ethnonym might eventually be seen as a distinct geographical name rather than a metonym for the people who live there.

Example: "Greece" derives from the Latin Graecia, which refers to the Greeks. This started as a name for the people but eventually became a distinct toponym for the country.

2. Metonymy and Cultural Association:

Metonymy can occur when the name of a group is used to represent the land they occupy, especially if the association is strong or obvious. In these cases, the people become a sort of stand-in for the place, and the place might only be referred to in terms of its inhabitants.

Example: "The Netherlands" literally means “low lands” in Dutch, but in English, the term is metonymic in that it uses the people (the Dutch) to represent the land. Over time, though, this becomes a distinct name for the country.

3. Cultural Context:

In some languages or cultures, naming a place after its people is almost second nature, while in others, it might be more of a metaphorical gesture. In English and many European languages, we often see countries and regions named after their dominant ethnic groups, but we may not always recognize that connection. The name might be used with the understanding that the land and its people are closely tied, making it sometimes hard to separate the people from the place.

Example: "Denmark" comes from the Old Norse Danmǫrk, meaning "border region of the Danes," where "Danes" refers to the people. Over time, it became a name for the land, though the connection to the people is still implied.

4. Use of Genitives and Abbreviations:

Sometimes, a place name may originally be a genitive or possessive form (e.g., Land of the Franks becomes simply France). This evolution from a descriptive phrase to a standalone name can make it hard to tell if the name is still referring to the people or if it has become a distinct identity for the place.

Example: "Hungary" is derived from the medieval Latin Hungaria, which referred to the people living in the area (the Hungarians), but today it is simply the name of the country, detached from the people themselves.

5. Dual Meaning in Modern Use:

In modern contexts, many ethnonymic toponyms can still carry both meanings: they represent the people and the land. The difference may become more pronounced depending on the context in which the name is used. If the focus is on the culture or the group (e.g., "the French" or "the Japanese"), it might feel more metonymic. If it's used to simply refer to the physical territory or political state (e.g., "France" as the country), it’s more of a distinct toponym.

Conclusion:

The transition from ethnonymic toponym to a distinct place name often happens gradually over time. What begins as a name reflecting the people often evolves into a name that stands for the territory, and it can be challenging to pinpoint exactly when this shift occurs. Additionally, the use of metonymy makes it hard to disentangle the people from the land in some cases. Both figures of speech—ethnonymy and metonymy—work hand-in-hand in these contexts, contributing to the complexity of understanding the origins and usage of place names.

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