This proverb works on two levels, that of practical skill and the metaphoric level.
Wisdom
Wisdom is what proceeds from God. It is the start. It also has a sense of practical skill. This is the double entendre of the proverb, comparing "construction-wisdom" with the house of the soul.
For this practical sense, when the tabernacle was being built God promised to give wisdom - e.g. skill - to men (and women) to build it:
Exodus 28:3 (KJV 1900)
3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have
filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments
to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s
office.
Exodus 35:26 (KJV 1900)
26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’
hair.
Exodus 36:2 (KJV 1900)
2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man,
in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart
stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:
Note that it is God that is the source of wisdom. We are told to "hear" wisdom, as it is shouting in the street. It comes from outside us.
Understanding
At the practical skills level, understanding refers to skilled experience.
Exodus 36:1 (KJV 1900)
Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom
the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner
of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the
LORD had commanded.
Thus understanding is the result of accepting wisdom from outside and keeping it, over time, in our hearts, putting wisdom into practice. You hear wisdom, but meditate for understanding. Or go to where understanding is and dwell there to obtain it over time.
K&D's commentary on this proverb discusses the implied continuity in "established":
It is wisdom, viz., that which originates from God, which is rooted in
fellowship with Him, by which every household, be it great or small,
prospers and attains to a successful and flourishing state; כֹּונֵן,
as parallel word to בָּנָה (Prov. 3:19; Hab. 2:12), is related to it
as statuere to extruere; the Hithpal (as at Num. 21:17) means to keep
oneself in a state of continuance, to gain perpetuity, to become
established
Thus the house is built by wisdom, but it remains standing -- is maintained and even improved upon -- by understanding.
At the metaphoric level, one meditates on wisdom to get understanding.
Psalm 49:3 (KJV 1900)
My mouth shall speak of wisdom;
And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
Alternately by keeping wisdom in our heart (over time), we obtain understanding:
Proverbs 2:2 (KJV 1900)
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thine heart to
understanding;
Proverbs 14:33 (KJV 1900)
Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: But that
which is in the midst of fools is made known.
Knowledge
In this schema, Wisdom is the seed that comes from God and we hear it, accepting it in our hearts. It is itself inscrutable and unknowable. We cannot dissect wisdom or peer inside it. We can only receive it from God. Then understanding is the nurturing of the seed so that it grows within us. And knowledge is the fruit of the process, which is pleasant and precious to man. Then after the house is built, and as it continues, the rooms begin to fill with knowledge.
Proverbs 2:10 (KJV 1900)
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, And knowledge is pleasant unto
thy soul;
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 6 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 350.
