Cold War themes? Maybe. De Mille himself made a hint at the beggining of the movie. Which is incorrect is the pretense of some people that the movie represents early Arab-ISraeli conflict. Ramses' Egypt that is portrayed on the film is very different from Nasser Pan-Arabist Middle Eastern power; besides, Midianites are portrayed as monotheistic Arabs (word "Arab" is not used, but they are called "Bedouins" and their father Ishmael is mentioned at least three times). This is different from the Bible, where Ishmaelites and Midianites are separate tribes.