Amos Hakham

Amos Hakham was born in 1921 in Jerusalem, and was the first ever winner of the International Bible Contest. At a young age, he fell and injured his hand and head. His father decided that he should be home schooled so as not be embarrassed about speech defects incurred from the accident. 

At age 15, his mother passed away, and at 22, Amos lost his father. He was hired as a clerk at the Institute for the Blind in Jerusalem, where he received meals and pocket money. In his spare time, Amos engaged in Bible study. In his late 20's Hakham completed his matriculation exams. He worked with students at the Institute in helping them with their high school studies, and created the first ever Bible in Braille with a blind typesetter.

On August 4, 1958, Hakham won the first ever Bible Contest, in Jerusalem. He was awarded his prize by David Ben Gurion.The Prime Minister invited him on a tour of Israel, and he ended up at the Ayanot Agricultural School. Ben Gurion attended Amos' wedding a few years later. In 1963, Hakham's first son was born. He was named Noah, after Amos' father.

Amos studied and became a Biblical scholar, interpreting 8 volumes in the Da'at Mikra series. He also wrote various articles for Encyclopedia Hebraica. In his later years, Hakham was a resident of Efrat in Gush Etzion.

He passed away at age 91, in 2012.