No. They didn't know about hemophilia. It is a sad thing and nothing to make fun of. Incidentally, I've never heard of hemophilia in modern times among Jews. That is not to say that it does not occur. Now just because I read it, some time ago, doesn't make it so.
If it did happen, it brings up interesting questions. It is passed on by the female. It had to start at some point with one female. In biblical times, Jews were to marry within their own tribes. There were sometimes dire consequences when they flouted the law. It is conceivable that, in those times, the defective gene had not yet been introduced into the Jewish gene pool.
I understand your uncertainty. But if it happened as you suggested, then it obviously happened enough times that the powers (whoever granted the "reprieve") noticed the connection.