Brahms composed the two motets based on Biblical texts and chorales but without a liturgical occasion in mind.

[4] In the manner of Johann Sebastian Bach, he ended the motet with a chorale,[4] the first stanza of Luther's "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin".

[5][6] Brahms structured the motet that was printed first (i.e. Warum ist das Licht gegeben) in four movements, three on Biblical verses in Martin Luther's translation, and, as a closing chorale, the first stanza from Luther's hymn "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin".

[5] The first movement is based on a longer biblical passage, Job 3:1-26, full of existential questions about the misery of human life.

[4] The first line is translated as "Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul" in the King James Version (KJV).