{He spake} (proseph(936e)ei). Imperfect active, was speaking.
See aorist active proseph(936e)(8873)en in  21:40 . {They were the more
quiet} (m(836c)lon pareschon h(8873)uchian). Literally, The more
(m(836c)lon) they furnished or supplied (second aorist active
indicative of parech(935c)) quietness (h(8873)uchian, old word, in the
N.T. only here and  2Th 3:12  1Ti 2:11ff. ). Precisely this idiom
occurs in Plutarch (_Cor_. 18) and the LXX ( Job 34:29 ).
Knowling notes the fondness of Luke for words of silence (sig(882c)
siga(932c) h(8873)uchaz(935c)) as in  Lu 14:4  15:26  Ac 11:18  12:17  15:12  21:14,40 . It is a vivid picture of the sudden hush that swept
over the vast mob under the spell of the Aramaic. They would have
understood Paul's _Koin(825f) Greek, but they much preferred the
Aramaic. It was a masterstroke.